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Democrats want to be able to pass President Biden's economic stimulus/COVID-19 relief bill, but it is highly unlikely they could get 10 Republicans to vote for the bill..Finally, the Protecting and Preserving Social Security Act gained one new cosponsor in Senator Claire McCaskill, who brings the new cosponsor total to three. If signed into law, S. 1600 would base the Social Security COLA on the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly. The bill would also ensure that high income earners pay their fair share of taxes into Social Security..According to the study, the 250 top selling drugs, each with one manufacturer and no competitive products on the market, account for 60% of net total Medicare Part D spending. The top 50 selling drugs, also with one manufacturer each and no competitors, account for 80% of total Medicare Part B spending..TSCL questions whether the more widespread use of subjective criteria in disability determinations may be contributing to disability fraud. Recently, 134 people, including retired New York City police officers and firefighters, were charged in one of the largest disability frauds on record. Those indicted were charged with faking mental disabilities, like post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from responding to the 911 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, to obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars in disability benefits..We will all know if they were able to reach and agreement and get their job done by the end of this coming Friday. However, President Trump's position on this is not clear. While Treasury Secretary Mnuchin has been in on the discussions of the legislation the President has not said where he stands..As a place to start contact your local senior centers and Area Agencies on Aging. Seniors centers can help with services that include:.If your "provisional" income is over the base amount, then a portion of your Social Security benefits would be taxable. Up to 50% of your Social Security benefits are taxable if your provisional income is above ,000 to ,000 if you file singly, or above ,000 to ,000 for joint filers. If your provisional income exceeds ,000 or ,000, up to 85% of your Social Security benefits are taxable..The Health Subcommittee focused on three specific Medicare proposals that President Obama included in his fiscal 2014 budget: establishing a home health copay, increasing the annual Part B deductible, and increasing means-testing measures for Parts B and D. Most Subcommittee Members, along with the expert panel, expressed their disapproval of all three options, stating that they would simply shift costs to seniors instead of targeting the root of the problem. Instead, many suggested that they focus on reforming the delivery system to better reward quality medical care..Medicare Part A pays for hospital in-patient care, as well as short term stays in skilled nursing facilities, home health and hospice services, in addition to covering a portion of payments paid to private insurers for the care of Medicare Advantage enrollees. It's funded through payroll taxes of 2.9% on earnings, with workers and employers each paying 1.45%. Workers pay Medicare taxes on all earnings. There is no wage limit subject to Medicare taxes as there is for Social Security.

Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee Legislative Staff Week Overview 2021

New Bill Would Expand Medicare Coverage.Do you see piles of mail and unopened bills? Your friend's mail may be a clue to how well she is managing her finances. Do you see unopened bills that have post- marks older than 30 days? Have you spotted letters from banks, creditors or insurers referring to overdrawn balances and missing payments?.Over the past four years, TSCL's surveys have found that about 9 out of 10 people receiving Social Security benefits report that their household spending rose by at least per month during the prior year. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. "Retirees need to plan for large monthly jumps in spending annually over the course of their retirement," Johnson says. In every year since 2014, the largest percentage of those people participating in TSCL annual Senior Surveys reported that their household spending jumped by more than 9 per month. Since 2014 annual COLAs grew a total of just 3.5 percent, averaging less than 0.9 percent per year. One factor in why retirees have such a gap between their COLA and spending is the consumer price index that the government uses to measure inflation and to determine the annual boost. "One would think that the CPI used to calculate COLAs for retirees would be based on seniors' spending patterns, but it is not," says Johnson. Instead, the COLA is determined by the growth in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. Younger working adults spend a far smaller portion of their income on medical costs, which is the fastest growing category of the CPI in most years. On the other hand, younger working adults spend more on transportation and gasoline, categories that have gone down dramatically in recent years. "This tends to understate the inflation experienced by the majority of people receiving Social Security," notes Johnson. … Continued

Report Kff Health Tracking Poll July 2020

To qualify, you must meet your state's income and asset limits. The information listed below show the 2019 baseline gross monthly income and asset limits but, even if your income or assets are slightly higher, you should still apply because these limits are somewhat higher for 2020, and some states have different guidelines..Flu vaccination is especially important for people 65 years and older because they are at high risk of developing serious complications from flu. Flu vaccines are updated each season as needed to keep up with changing viruses. Also, immunity wanes over a year so annual vaccination is needed to ensure the best possible protection against flu. A flu vaccine protects against the flu viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season. Flu vaccines for 2020-2021 have been updated from last season's vaccine to better match circulating viruses. Immunity from vaccination fully sets in after about two weeks..Social Security beneficiaries have lost nearly one-third of their buying power since 2000, according to the 2017 Social Security Loss of Buying Power Study released by The Senior Citizens League. The findings represent a big 7% loss in buying power just over the past 12 months, from 23% in 2016 to 30% in 201This occurred as inflation has begun to climb, but people receiving Social Security received an annual cost-of-living adjustment of just 0.3% for 201Housing and medical costs - particularly for prescription drug expenses - were among the most rapidly rising spending categories over the past year. … Continued