Hospitals have prioritized rescheduling patients who do not have COVID-19 but have conditions that may deteriorate if they do not get regular care. Patients receiving cancer treatment need to go to regularly scheduled appointments. Doctors are particularly concerned that patients who have heart or lung disease, hypertension, diabetes, and other chronic conditions get back on a routine care schedule..TSCL consists of vocally active senior citizens concerned about the protection of their Social Security, Medicare, and veteran or military retiree benefits. TSCL was first established as a special project of The Retired Enlisted Association. On January 1, 1995, TSCL became an independent 501[c][4] citizens' action organization..The annual COLA is tied to the rise in inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Inflation has been at record lows in most of the seven years since 2009, averaging just 1.2 percent. In the decade prior to 2009, COLAs averaged more than 3 percent. And although low inflation can be helpful to younger wage earners and workers, "it's not always a boon for people receiving Social Security benefits," says Ed Cates, Chairman of TSCL..The Obama administration will decide soon whether to appeal Monday's injunction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. In the meantime, TSCL will keep a close eye on the immigration discussions since the President's recent orders could result in permanent and significant obligations for the Social Security and Medicare programs down the road. We will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website..Before 2020 came to an end, a new forecast from the Congressional Budget Office confirmed that Medicare's Part A Hospital Insurance trust fund is running out of money two years earlier than previously expected. The CBO's forecast indicates that there will be insufficient funds to cover all Part A benefits beginning in 2024 - less than 3 years from now..Most Americans contribute 6.2 percent of every paycheck to Social Security, but workers earning over 2,900 contribute nothing over that amoun,t due to a payroll tax cap. Around 75% of Social Security beneficiaries believe the Social Security taxable maximum should be eliminated to extend the solvency of the Trust Funds responsibly, without cutting benefits. Do you agree?.The CBO estimated that, the American Health Care Act, introduced in March, would cut federal spending on Medicaid by nearly 0 billion over the 2017 2026 period. The CBO estimated that, by 2026, Medicaid spending would be about 25 percent less than projected under current law, yet Medicaid spending growth would exceed the rate of growth of the inflation adjustment. "With costs growing faster than reimbursements, states would have to come up with the money in some other way or be forced to cut services, restrict eligibility for enrollment or otherwise ration care," says Johnson.".The disability program has been redeeming the assets, or IOUs, held in the DI trust fund for several years and is projected to become totally insolvent in 201Upon insolvency, legislation would be required if the DI trust fund were to borrow money in order to pay benefits, even if the money is borrowed from the OASI trust fund. The two funds have borrowed from each other in the past. During the 1980's, the OASI trust fund borrowed from the DI trust fund and the money was later repaid. However, in 2018 the OASI trust fund will be facing its own financial problems..Tuesday Senators Grassley and Wyden announced legislation, The Prescription Drug Pricing and Reduction Act of 201The bill if adopted would save taxpayers more than 0 Billion, lower Medicare Beneficiaries out-of-pocket costs by Billion and premiums by Billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. A hearing on Thursday of a key panel of legislators advanced the legislation out of the Senate Finance Committee despite close-call votes on controversial provisions, priming the legislation to be considered by the full Senate in the fall.
