I have proudly introduced this important legislation every single Congress since coming to the House of Representatives in 201Despite having over 100 bipartisan cosponsors each Congress, the bill has unfortunately received little attention from House leadership. In September 2018, myself and my colleague, Rep. Garret Graves offered this bill as an amendment to the Family Savings Act, which was part of Rep. Kevin Brady's "Tax 2.0" package. Unfortunately, the amendment was ultimately defeated, but highlighting this important issue. It continues to be my priority..IPAB Repeal Bill Approved by House.AHCA Advances Through House.TSCL is hopeful that lawmakers will find a solution before the end of this month, since a government shutdown could negatively impact Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries. We will continue to keep an eye on the evolving negotiations, and we will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website..If you have not been offered affordable insurance through your employer, you are not receiving Medicare, and you purchase your own health insurance coverage, you may be among those who have the most to gain from shopping for health insurance on the new health insurance exchanges. Depending on your income, you may be eligible for new premium subsides that would cover part of the cost of your health insurance premiums. The exchanges are now open for comparing health insurance coverage that becomes effective January 1, 2014..Under current law, when noncitizens receive a valid work-authorized, Social Security number, all earnings, from authorized and unauthorized work count toward qualifying for and determining benefits. Under an amnesty, potentially hundreds of billions in earnings under invalid Social Security numbers could become the basis for calculation of Social Security benefits as unauthorized immigrants change status, eroding program financing more rapidly and raising the possibility of more benefit cuts..TSCL is pleased that lawmakers on the Senate Aging Committee are raising awareness of scams against seniors and we agree that more must be done to combat the growing issue. In the months ahead, we will advocate for legislation that would protect older Americans from financial abuse. In the meantime, we encourage our supporters to read the Aging Committee's updated Fraud Book by clicking HERE. As Chairman Collins said on Wednesday, "The more that seniors know about these scams, the less likely they are to fall victim.".Should Medicare change from a program that guarantees coverage for a fixed set of benefits, to one that guarantees a fixed federal payment to cover a portion of beneficiaries' healthcare expenses?.Because Medicare Part B premiums are automatically deducted from Social Security benefits, retirees find it difficult to fully anticipate the squeeze that rising Medicare Part B can put on benefits and their budgets. In the past 15 years the percentage of the Social Security COLA increase has been lower than Medicare Part B premium increase 9 times.
