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Someone calls stating they are with Medicare and they need to update your information. Medicare never calls or visits anyone and already has the information it needs to send your cards..New rules prohibit insurers from rejecting applicants with pre-existing health problems or charging you more based on your health history. The law also sets limits on how much insurers may charge older buyers. Premiums for a 64-year-old can be no more than three times as much as they are for a 21-year-old. However, concerns are widespread that insurance costs could still be challenging for many seniors..Keep good records: If you already keep detailed records of your health expenses for tax or other reasons, good. If not, set up a bookkeeping sheet for all healthcare expenses, including items like dental and vision care that Medicare does not cover. Enter new costs as soon as you incur them, or at least monthly, so you don't miss any. Use these records at tax time to determine if you're entitled to a deduction..On Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee held a hearing titled "Determining Eligibility for Disability Benefits: Challenges Facing the Social Security Administration." Members of the Subcommittee heard from several expert witnesses at the hearing, including Bea Disman, Marilyn Zahm, and Lisa Ekman..Your wife's survivors benefit would not be reduced and she would receive the ,842 you would have received had your benefits not been reduced due to the WEP. For more information on survivors benefits, visit. Learn more about the Windfall Elimination Provision here. If you receive a pension for work not covered by Social Security, learn how your spouse or survivors benefits may be affected by the Government Pension Offset here..The sharp plunge was the result of changes that Congress made in 1977 to a Social Security benefit formula glitch that over-adjusted for inflation. At the time, Social Security actuaries forecast that if left unchanged, some groups of future retirees would receive benefits that would be even higher than their average earnings during their working years. Social Security was almost insolvent..Protection of the Social Security Trust Fund Ensuring that the program's assets are locked out of the general budget..For the past several years, Social Security's Disability Insurance program has been facing financing challenges. In the fall of 2015, lawmakers took action to prevent a 19% benefit cut that would have affected 10 million disabled enrollees and dependents, extending the program's solvency past 201However, more work remains before the program can be considered financially stable. In September, lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee took the first steps toward improving the program's solvency when they held a hearing to discuss its future..Representative C.W. Bill Young

Policy Tracker Fy14 Omnibus Appropriations Act Released
New Concern About Cuts to Medicare.Currently the SSA uses all earnings to determine entitlement to benefits, including the earnings for jobs worked illegally. The majority of seniors responding to TSCL surveys on the topic believe that noncitizens should not be allowed to receive Social Security based on illegal work. TSCL agrees. Social Security benefits are determined on earnings and work history, regardless of whether taxes were paid or not. Because those earnings are held by Social Security in an Earnings Suspense file, non-citizens could at some point gain access to benefits based on illegal earnings. TSCL strongly supports legislation that would ban the payment of Social Security based on unauthorized work..To read more about Medicare see the 2015 Medicare & You handbook. Get a copy here. … Continued

Patient Education Total Hip Replacement After Surgery Common Questions When Leaving
The Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act, if signed into law, would repeal the SGR and set up a five-year trial period during which physician payments would stabilize and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would test new payment and delivery models. TSCL strongly believes that the SGR breeds uncertainty in the Medicare program for both physicians and beneficiaries. Many doctors have stopped accepting Medicare patients, and many more are threatening to do so if a permanent solution is not established soon. We believe that Rep. Schwartz's bill would bring increased stability to the program, and we urge Congress to pass it by the end of this year..Homeowners and renter's insurance: With severe weather-related disasters, homeowner's insurance is one of the top ten fastest rising senior costs. If you haven't done so recently, review your coverage and determine whether it's based on the current value of your home and realistic current replacement costs. Many policies have new deductibles for wind and hurricane damage based on a percentage of your home's value, so take care and look before being tempted to increase deductibles to lower premium costs. Do shop around with other highly rated insurers to see if you can lower your premiums..Take minimum required distributions on time. Once you turn age 70 ½, everyone with a traditional IRA must begin taking required minimum distributions. Failure to do so results in a tax penalty equal to 50% of the required distribution amount. … Continued

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