News

The BCRA, the "repeal-and-replace" bill that lawmakers have been working on for several weeks, was defeated on Tuesday night with a vote of 43 5The ORRA, the "repeal-and-delay" bill, was defeated with a vote of 45 55 on Wednesday afternoon. And the "skinny repeal" bill which would have repealed a few of the ACA's most controversial provisions was defeated early Friday morning with a vote of 49 51, just two hours after the text of the bill was revealed. The critical "no" votes came from three Republican Senators: Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and John McCain.."Sequester Savings on Senior Programs Would Add New Cost, Study Says," Kerry Young, CQ Roll Call. "Meals on Wheels Budget Cuts: 'Slowly Developing Crisis,'" Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, May 6, 2013..Your decision on when to enroll in Medicare depends on two factors: 1.) your age or disability and, 2.) the size of your husband's employer. You are first eligible to enroll at 65, but if your husband's employer has over 20 full time employees then you would be able to delay enrollment in Medicare while your husband is still working and he continues to have health coverage through his employer. Once the employment or coverage ends you have 8 months to sign up for Part B without penalty during a Special Enrollment Period.."Is There A Subprime Car Loan Bubble?" Bob Sullivan, Credit.com, March 23, 2015..TSCL has been monitoring the case closely in recent months because if implemented, the executive orders would have provided millions of undocumented immigrants with controversial access to Social Security and Medicare benefits. In a press release, Ed Cates TSCL's Chairman said: "Concern is high that undocumented immigrants who were illegally present and who worked under fake, invalid, or fraudulent Social Security numbers may benefit based on such work, potentially at the expense of others who paid into the system the legal way.".New study says drug prices really have been increasing.On Thursday, HELP Committee Members heard from the governors of five states, who offered their guidance on improving the individual market. Governor John Hickenlooper explained that states have long been the test labs of democratic experiments and they are in an exceptional position to propose unique solutions. He and others who testified at Thursday's hearing agreed that CSRs must continue to be funded and that lawmakers should consider creating an emergency stabilization fund to decrease the skyrocketing premiums many individuals are currently facing. Governor Charlie Baker summarized the spirit of the hearing when he said "health coverage is a shared commitment," and although the opinions of elected officials vary widely, they are dedicated to working to solutions together..Government and private economists are warning of major financial turmoil and another recession if Congress can't get their act together to address the rising level of federal debt that is estimated to equal 70 percent of our total national output by the end of the year. Our nation's ability to pay the interest and its debt obligations has everything to do with our benefits..The move is undoubtedly an attempt to head off political fall-out from what is turning into a major issue with senior voters in 2014 - President Obama's broken promise, "If you like your health plan, you can keep your health plan." According to a recent TSCL poll, 58% of seniors say that they are worried that their health plan could be cancelled this year. Seniors aren't the only ones who are worried - so are Members of Congress - from both sides of the aisle.