If adopted, it would provide beneficiaries with a 2 percent benefit boost, base cost-of-living adjustments on the more accurate Consumer Price Index for the Elderly, create a new minimum benefit set at 125 percent of the poverty line, and eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits for millions of seniors. It would also extend the solvency of the program through the year 2100 without cutting benefits for current or future retirees. TSCL was pleased to see support grow for H.R. 1902 this week, and we hope to see it signed into law before the end of this year..With just days remaining before the looming deadline, TSCL will be keeping a close eye on the evolving omnibus bill. If lawmakers fail to reach an agreement in time, the federal government would once again shut down, and Social Security beneficiaries could see delays in their monthly checks. In addition, reimbursements for doctors who treat Medicare patients could be interrupted. For updates on the progress of the omnibus over the next few days, visit our page on Facebook, or our new account on Twitter..A report released by the House Oversight Committee last week said that from 2016 to 2020, the 14 top drug companies spent 7 billion on stock buybacks and dividends. That is some billion more than the amount spent on research and development, the report said..I get my Medicare health plan under my wife's company insurance. My wife is not on Medicare yet, she also gets her health insurance through her former employer. We are both retired and live on a fixed income. When does she need to enroll in Medicare?.Although some members of Congress have said they don't know where the money would come from to fix Social Security without benefit cuts, TSCL surveys indicate that older Americans support the following approach:.Get pneumococcal vaccines.Calling it an "economic imperative," President Obama continues to call for comprehensive immigration reform that would provide a path to legal status for illegal immigrants. A day after the President outlined his plan in a speech on the border with Mexico, immigration reform legislation known as the "DREAM Act" was reintroduced in the Senate..Medicare Advantage plan cuts. So far, seniors have not been widely affected by cuts to Medicare Advantage plans, but many of the changes in reimbursements to plans have not yet taken effect. TSCL remains concerned that the reimbursement cuts would cause plans to drop extra benefits like eyeglasses and hearing aids that they now provide. Of greater concern is whether plan payments will be adequate for insurers to maintain their contracts with Medicare to provide services. When Congress cut plan payments too deeply in the past, insurers pulled out of markets all over the United States, leaving millions of seniors scrambling to find another health plan - most often at higher out-of-pocket cost..TSCL has been pushing members of Congress to include legislation to reduce the price of drugs and pass legislation to deal with the practice of surprise medical billing. We were hoping those issues would be addressed at the same time as the legislation to extend the federal health programs mentioned above.
