Perspective We Arent Getting A National Vaccine Passport So Lets Use The Next Best Thing Cdc Vaccination CardsThis week, Members of Congress continued to focus on a series of fiscal 2015 appropriations bills including one that would provide funding for the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In addition, The Senior Citizens League announced its support for a new piece of legislation, and two key bills gained cosponsors..Over the years, TSCL surveys indicate that older Americans overwhelmingly oppose totally replacing Medicare with a system of private insurance plans. On the other hand, the design of traditional Medicare alone has a considerably high level of out-of-pocket spending, and no annual out-of-pocket limit. That leaves an important role for private insurers to fill in the gap with Medigap supplements or Medicare Advantage plans..Currently the SSA uses all earnings to determine entitlement to benefits, including the earnings for jobs worked illegally. The majority of seniors responding to TSCL surveys on the topic believe that noncitizens should not be allowed to receive Social Security based on illegal work. TSCL agrees. Social Security benefits are determined on earnings and work history, regardless of whether taxes were paid or not. Because those earnings are held by Social Security in an Earnings Suspense file, non-citizens could at some point gain access to benefits based on illegal earnings. TSCL strongly supports legislation that would ban the payment of Social Security based on unauthorized work. … Continued
Health Costs Perspective Medicare Spending Cuts And Hospital Productivity GainsJohnson compiled a list of ten of the fastest-rising retiree costs based on Consumer Price Index data from October 2017 through October 2018..Congressional aides have said that the conference co-chairs, Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Paul Ryan, are "talking almost every day," but a partisan divide over potential "sequester" offsets seems to have halted progress. Half of the conferees hope to replace a portion of the "sequester" with revenue increases, while the other half would like to enact cuts to mandatory programs, including Social Security and Medicare. At this point, conferees on both sides are remaining steadfast in their positions..Medicare Reform Protecting seniors from sudden and harsh changes to the program. … Continued
