News

The Social Security COLA was created to protect the purchasing power of Social Security benefits received by older and disabled Americans, but the results of this new study show that seniors are failing to keep up with rising costs. In recent years, inflation and COLAs have been at record low levels, averaging just 1.2 percent per year since 20In 2018, Social Security beneficiaries received a COLA of 2 percent, yet most saw no increase at all in their net benefits due to substantially higher Medicare Part B premiums..Rescue committees may not even be needed for Social Security. The House is working on The Social Security 2100 Act introduced by Representative John Larson, and has the support of 208 co-sponsors. The bill would provide;.In addition to the care given at the hospital, the staff travels to nursing homes and other care facilities to administer needed medical tests. This hospital alone is responsible for more than 250,000 lab tests a year. When I spoke to the hospital's CEO he told me the hospital doesn't recover its costs on those tests. "We do them because the patients in the nursing homes need us," he said..Medicare's extraordinarily high reimbursement rates for durable medical equipment like back braces and power wheel chairs have made it a particularly lucrative target for crooks and abuse billing practices. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently reported that an astonishing 66% of all durable medical equipment claims were improperly paid in the government's fiscal year 2012, costing Medicare more than billion..This week, TSCL endorsed the Social Security Fraud Prevention Act, sponsored by Congressman David Valadao. If signed into law, the bill would prevent instances of identity theft by removing or partially redacting Social Security numbers from government-issued documents..Instead, some physicians are experimenting with converting their practices to more lucrative payment models, such as concierge medicine, in which patients pay a fee upfront to retain the doctor. Patients who cannot afford that arrangement may have to search for a new physician..Some 13% of the people who receive both Medicare and Medicaid are 85 and older. The youngest Notch Babies turned 85 last year, while the oldest turned 9With over four million Notch Babies and their widows, TSCL believes that roughly one-quarter of Notch Babies receive both Medicaid, as well as Medicare..and would reduce the tax on Social Security benefits for older taxpayers with incomes below ,000, and 0,000..How Social Security Can Be Fixed Without Deep Cuts