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The move is undoubtedly an attempt to head off political fall-out from what is turning into a major issue with senior voters in 2014 - President Obama's broken promise, "If you like your health plan, you can keep your health plan." According to a recent TSCL poll, 58% of seniors say that they are worried that their health plan could be cancelled this year. Seniors aren't the only ones who are worried - so are Members of Congress - from both sides of the aisle..I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. My doctor first prescribed Femara. Within a few weeks, I knew I was not going to be able to continue with this medication because I was experiencing severe bone and joint pain. My doctor then chose Aromasin. This was obviously the drug for me..There are better and more fair choices for indexing the COLA. The BLS also measures the price change experience of All Urban Consumers which covers about 88% of the U.S. population including retirees as well as younger people, and it even maintains a "senior-specific" experimental CPI, the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly, that our government has quietly tinkered with since 1983, but has never used to calculate the COLA..Information and referral: Depending on her income your mom may qualify for other assistance programs, like Medicare Extra Help, and you can get contact information for other types of programs..The 30 percent who are not protected by hold harmless include:.However, a modification to the bill is under consideration that would provide a portion of the income taxes collected on Social Security benefits to the Medicare Trust Fund in the same manner and amount as current law. That modification, however, would have a big impact on Social Security's cash flow in the earlier years. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the change would lower the total amount of revenues going into the Social Security Trust Fund by 1 billion over the 2020-2029 period, and would not prevent Social Security from becoming insolvent by 2036..The continuing resolution will give appropriators in the House and Senate five extra days until Wednesday, December 16th to work out the final details of the omnibus. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn told reporters on Thursday, "There are a few outstanding issues that have not yet been resolved." However, he said he's hopeful that the omnibus will be filed on Monday after a weekend of negotiations..I was born May 10, 1960. Can you tell me my retirement age? I've read that the retirement age for Social Security is rising. How does this affect the amount that I receive in benefits? Can I still retire and receive benefits at age 62?.Again, those projections were made prior to the effects of the pandemic. You can be sure when this is all over, the projections will be much worse.

How To Be An Ally To Health Care Workers

Many in Congress talk about the need to "strengthen Social Security," but few offer proposals that would both improve program financing and at the same time improve retirement income. We encourage you to attend town halls this summer and to tell your Members of Congress that Social Security's solvency doesn't require benefit cuts. What Social Security needs is greater tax fairness and requiring all to pay their fair share..Wilson Disease can cause organ or cognitive failure. Because no equivalent for Syprine exists, Heyman was forced to try an alternative treatment, Galzin, which costs her about 0 per year. Heyman said the change was made only under duress, because it does not remove the fatal build - up of copper in her system - just absorbs it - and the long - term consequences of the switch are still unknown..Senior advocates are concerned that all of Medicare's 60 million beneficiaries will likely see their premiums for Medicare Part B, and Medigap supplements, rise significantly to cover this one new medication. Because the drug is administered in a physician's office, it would be covered under Medicare Part B, not part D plans which pay for drugs purchased from pharmacies. Medicare typically reimburses doctors 103% of the list price of drugs administered in their office. … Continued

Medicaid Event Medicaid Matters For Low Income Medicare Beneficiaries

More than 5 million Social Security recipients with the lowest benefits are unlikely to see any net growth in their monthly checks after deduction of the Medicare Part B premium in 2019, according to a new analysis released by The Senior Citizens League. This will occur despite their receiving the highest cost-of-living adjustment in seven years. Those affected have a gross Social Security benefit of about 5 per month or less before deduction of the Part B premium. According to the analysis, the dollar amount of their Part B premium increase will be more than the dollar amount of their COLA. "This would make the fourth year in a row that this particular group has not seen a boost in their net Social Security benefits after the deduction for Medicare Part B premiums," says Mary Johnson, a Social Security and Medicare policy analyst for the League.\.Recently we asked for your stories and comments on how rising prescription drug costs impact you. The following story illustrates new administrative efforts by Medicare to "educate" beneficiaries about their options for less expensive prescription meds, by sending out letters listing lower cost medications. The question we need to ask our lawmakers is why is this necessary? Does the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services believe we are impoverishing ourselves by using more expensive drugs if a less expensive alternative was effective, to begin with? Unfortunately, sometimes the older, less expensive drugs don't work as well, and with metastatic cancer drugs, quality of life can be at stake. Our sincere thank you to Janice S. a retiree living in Illinois, for sharing the following..Take a quiz from the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation website. … Continued