Health Reform Poll Finding Kaiser Health Tracking Poll June 2013Recently my mother got a notice from Social Security saying that her income is over the limit, and now she's paying much higher Medicare premiums than last year. Normally her income is modest, but in 2009 we sold her home after she moved into an assisted living facility. Her monthly Part B premium rose from .40 to 1.50. Her Part D coverage had increased by per month and the government tacked on a surcharge of more than doubling the premium that she paid last year. Altogether, my mother's Social Security was reduced by .10 a month! Someone told me this was part of healthcare reform. Why was there no advance notice to allow families to plan for this?.This year, more than 50% of Social Security beneficiaries paid taxes on their benefits, even though many of them only made twice the federal poverty level in income. Do you believe this is fair, and if not, what should be done about it?.Increasing the payroll tax rate gradually by around 1 percent for both workers and employers. Doing so would amount to an additional 50 cents per week for the average American worker an amount that TSCL feels is reasonable. … Continued
Blog Table Of Contents State Legislatures Magazine February 2016The House has been working on the other funding bills but whether or not they are able to pass any of them before the August break is uncertain. So far, the Senate has not managed to pass any of the needed funding bills..While budget resolutions don't have the force of law, the agreements set out the U.S. fiscal year budget and serve as a blueprint for subsequent legislation. The House resolution also includes reconciliation instructions for the GOP's tax reform plan, but the resolution has been stalled due to disagreements over mandatory spending that includes Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid among others..A new study recently found that Social Security benefits have lost 34 percent of their purchasing power since 2000 due to rising costs and inadequate cost-of-living adjustments. Do you support the bipartisan CPI-E Act, which would make the COLA more fair and adequate? … Continued