According to a new survey by The Senior Citizens League, premiums for Medicare supplemental insurance, known as Medigap, grew more than twice as fast as Social Security cost of living -adjustments in the past year. About 41 percent of survey participants who are covered by a Medigap policy report robust premium increases in the past 12 months of at least 6 percent or more, particularly for individuals who were covered by a policy for more than two years. "The Social Security COLA for 2019 is 2.8 percent, far lower than the rate that Medigap policies appear to be growing," says Mary Johnson, a Social Security and Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League..The amount you pay for your CT scan will vary by your Medicare Advantage plan and whether you get your CT scan from a preferred provider. You will need to call your plan to learn the out-of-pocket cost details, and to make sure the facility, doctors, and medical technicians performing the CT scan are preferred providers with your Medicare Advantage plan. You could pay considerably more if you use providers who are not under contract with your Medicare Advantage plan. Call the customer service number on the back of your health plan's card, have your questions written down and be ready to take notes..Congress is now in recess and is not scheduled to start again until April 20. Of course, that could change, depending on the situation with the spread of the virus..For details, or to see if your Members of Congress will be holding town hall meetings before the November elections, call their local offices. You can find contact information HERE. For more sample town hall questions, click HERE..The Senior Citizens League would like to remind you that both Houses of Congress have adjourned for the August recess. The Senate is expected to be back in session on September 6th, while the House of Representatives will return on September 7th..In fact, the fastest growing cost for seniors Medicare Part B premiums is not accounted for at all in the CPI-W since young workers are not enrolled in the Medicare program. Since 2000, Medicare Part B premiums have increased by 195 percent and prescription drug spending has increased by 184 percent. However, COLAs have increased Social Security benefits by just 43 percent since 2000..The Senior Citizens League believes it is essential for older Americans to receive the primary and preventive care that is needed to ensure good health in retirement. In a recent poll conducted by The Senior Citizens League, 79% of respondents said they would like to see Medicare coverage expanded to include hearing, vision, and dental services. Only 9% said Medicare coverage should remain unchanged, while 14% said they would like to see private Medicare Advantage plans which sometimes cover more of these services better promoted..Age doesn't matter for contributions to Roth IRAs. Regardless of your age, if you have earned wages you can contribute to a Roth IRA. While the contributions to a Roth will not lower your income for tax purposes, the money you put in will grow tax deferred without any required minimum distributions. And distributions from a Roth won't subject your Social Security benefits to taxation..The income thresholds that subject up to 50 percent of Social Security benefits to tax start at provisional incomes of ,000 and ,000. A second tier taxes up to 85% of benefits when individual provisional income exceeds ,000, and joint exceeds ,000. If the thresholds were adjusted to today's dollars the ,000 threshold would be about ,107 and the ,000 would be about ,097 according an analysis for TSCL.
