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Nearly twenty new initiatives were revealed at Monday's conference. In his speech, President Obama announced one that will encourage workers to save more for retirement by helping states create new workplace-based savings opportunities. Currently, around one-third of all employees do not have access to a workplace retirement plan. The initiative announced on Monday will "provide a clear path forward for states to create retirement savings programs" by the end of this year, President Obama said..Elizabeth Curda of the Government Accountability Office explained that the operating system for filing and processing these claims was built in the 1950s and requires .1 billion just to maintain, not to improve, the system. Max Stier from the Partnership for Public Service said: "We have a legacy government that hasn't kept up with the world.".How can we strengthen Social Security's financing structure? Take TSCL's 2020 Senior Survey and let us know what you think about some of the leading proposals and thank you for your participation..Why is this important for TSCL supporters?.Want to join the effort for an Emergency COLA? Sign a petition today!.Roughly one - half of all retiree households report that a portion of their Social Security benefits are subject to taxation, according to recent survey results from The Senior Citizens League. "This is a tax that was estimated to affect just 10 percent of Social Security beneficiaries when it was first enacted in 1983," says Mary Johnson, a Social Security and Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League..Vaccine scientists are similarly cautious, especially of a testing schedule that will compress both the size and duration of safety and effectiveness trials - and even overlap them - in a bid to save time..The CMS announced new streamlined payment mechanisms for healthcare provider transactions this week. Doctors, hospitals, health plans, and states will all see reduced administrative costs under CMS' larger "administrative simplification" initiative..Do I Have To Give Up My Current Healthcare Coverage To Go On Medicare?

Blog Voters Contemplate Options On Health Ballot Issues

Here's how one TSCL-backed proposal the Social Security 2100 Act would restore the program's solvency through the next century while strengthening benefits for older Americans..Even though the rate of inflation is dropping, a proposal that would switch to a more slowly-growing CPI to calculate COLA continues to be pushed by proponents on both sides. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the "chained" CPI would reduce the federal budget deficit by more than 0 billion in the first ten years. It would do so by cutting the growth in a host of federal benefit programs, including military retirement in addition to Social Security, as well as increasing revenues if used to index the tax code..If adopted, H.R. 860 would strengthen and reform the Social Security program by providing beneficiaries with a 2 percent benefit boost, basing cost-of-living adjustments on the CPI-E, creating a new minimum benefit set at 125 percent of the poverty line, and cutting taxes for beneficiaries. It would also apply the payroll tax to income over 0,000 and gradually increase the payroll tax rate to 7.4 percent. … Continued

Patient Education Surgery And Beyond Patient Care Plan

"The Earnings Suspense File isn't getting enough attention from Congress," says TSCL Chairman, Ed Cates. "Wages are an important indicator of the extra costs associated with immigration reform," Cates notes. Wage records are used to determine both the number of quarters worked to qualify for Social Security, and to calculate the initial benefit. The wages represented by the Earnings Suspense File would potentially form a portion of Social Security benefits for undocumented workers who later gain legal status..Even if you stay in the hospital overnight, Medicare still considers observation services as outpatient care and requires you to pay a bigger share of the costs. Your inpatient status is also important to determining whether Medicare will cover care you receive if you are later released to a skilled nursing the facility..Senator David Vitter also reintroduced the Notch Fairness Act in the Senate. The Notch Fairness Act is legislation that would provide Notch Babies born 1917 through 1926, or widows who receive benefits based on their account, a choice of a lump sum of ,000 payable in four annual installments of ,250 or an improved monthly benefit. … Continued