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These provisions are outdated and unfair to many seniors, and it's time to repeal them. Workers who paid into Social Security and their spouses should not be penalized and lose earned benefits for working in public service and the private sector. If you paid into Social Security, this is your money, not a government entitlement or subsidy..Members of the Maryland Congressional delegation recently sent a letter to the Postmaster General complaining of the poor service. They stated in part:.You should know that there are some groups who call themselves senior groups but are funded mostly by the drug makers and other corporate interests. Whereas TSCL is beholden only to you, those groups dare not oppose the corporations that fund them, whether it is in the interests of seniors or not..This is obviously an area of concern for many TSCL members who get their prescriptions delivered through the mail as well as though who receive monthly checks by mail. If you have problems with late delivery, we urge you to contact your own Senators and Representative and let them know. Congress needs to put pressure on the postal service to get this problem fixed..The benefit that you are entitled to receive on your own work record is less than the benefit you would receive on your ex-spouse's work record..Medicare's extraordinarily high reimbursement rates for durable medical equipment like back braces and power wheel chairs have made it a particularly lucrative target for crooks and abuse billing practices. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently reported that an astonishing 66% of all durable medical equipment claims were improperly paid in the government's fiscal year 2012, costing Medicare more than billion..We should also ensure senior citizens are getting an accurate cost of living adjustment. The model the government is using right now would be fine if seniors were regularly buying iPods and laptop computers. But that's just not the case. I've proposed a better way to calculate the COLA based on items seniors actually use, such as food, housing, gasoline, healthcare and prescription drugs..For more information or to view a list of cosponsors, click here..Rushed or pressured to sign papers. Is the salesman or dealer herding you into an office and telling you to sign now or lose your deal? That's a sure sign it's a deal worth missing.

Press Release Khn Wins National Edward R Murrow Award For Excellence In Diversity Equity And Inclusion

The loss of buying power is an early indicator of whether the Social Security COLA will climb in the following year. Based on consumer price index data through May of this year, we estimate that the COLA for 2019 will be about 3.3%, the highest since 201However, that number could change, since there are still several months of price data to be released before the Social Security Administration announces the COLA in October..If adopted, S. 99 would provide for the negotiation of lower covered Part D drug prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries and the establishment of a formulary by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under Medicare Part D..More than 1,057 respondents participated in The Senior Citizens League's annual senior survey, which was conducted from January through March of this year. Participants confirmed that monthly household expenses made steep increases over the past year, far in excess of the dollar amount that their COLAs increased benefits. More than half, 56%, indicated their monthly expenses went up by more than Yet 50% of survey respondents said that their COLA increased benefits less than per month, after the increased Part B premium for 2018 was deducted from their Social Security benefits. … Continued

Medicaid Fee Index

The main point is that this program would be limited in scale, and only available in certain types of plans, which means only in certain areas of the country. The premiums of these plans would be higher for all enrollees due to the capping of the cost of insulin to the patient, but not actually lowering the cost of insulin overall. That means the supplemental insurance plan would still be paying the full cost of insulin that is charged by the drug companies. To pay for that, the insurance companies would likely increase the costs of their Medicare supplement plans to all who are covered, not just those who are diabetic..The plan released this week is not expected to be adopted or even to win any bipartisan support on Capitol Hill. However, it does mark the start of the fiscal 2016 budget negotiations, and it lays out the line-by-line needs of the federal agencies for appropriators. Soon, the House and Senate Budget Committees will release their own spending blueprints for fiscal 2016, and TSCL expects to see proposals that would dramatically alter the Social Security and Medicare programs. We will keep a close eye on the negotiations as they evolve, and will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website..Then, in our Oct. 3 Update we reported that the chairmen of the House Ways and Means Oversight and Health subcommittees had sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar requesting more information about the discount card. Among the questions they were asking was what legal authority is being used to justify the program and how it will be paid for. … Continued