Low-income seniors, including about one-quarter of all Notch Babies, may be feeling the effects of the expiration of federal stimulus funding for Medicaid that ended recently. The recession drove up Medicaid enrollment sharply, but the federal government stepped in with extra funding to help states cover the costs. Increased enrollment and decreased funding have led states to eliminate some benefits and increase the co-payments they charge..Low premiums: MA premiums are typically about 60% lower than Medigap premiums, and despite cut backs to plan reimbursements, MA premiums have remained relatively low. However, if you live in a rural area your plan choices may be more limited, and no matter where you live, your premiums may climb in the future..If you were born during the Notch period and receive Social Security benefits based on your work record, or that of a Notch Baby spouse, you have been affected by this inequity from your first Social Security check. According to TSCL studies, this disparity costs you on average about ,000 to as much as ,000 per year in lower benefits..In the months ahead, The Senior Citizens League will continue to advocate for these and other policy solutions that would strengthen and enhance Social Security benefits for current and future beneficiaries. For progress updates, follow The Senior Citizens League on Twitter..The Social Security Administration announced today that the 2020 COLA will be just 1.6 percent, continuing the worrisome trend in which COLAs have averaged just 1.4 percent from 2000 to 20"Adequate COLAs are critical to retirement security," says Mary Johnson, a Social Security policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League. "Social Security is one of the only types of retirement income that provides this essential protection against rising costs. "When a retiree's costs rise faster than their COLA, the buying power of Social Security benefits erodes, leaving people with a benefit that doesn't go as far as it did when they first retired," Johnson notes. According to research by Johnson, Social Security benefits have lost 33 percent of buying power since 2000..One TSCL concern remains regarding the possibility of some seniors losing their prescription drug coverage from their former employers. Therefore, we supported incentives to help businesses continue to cover their former employees. We will continue to monitor this development to help ensure that retirees are given the option to maintain coverage that they are used to and prefer..A 2004 law forbids the payment of Social Security benefits to illegal immigrants in the U.S. unless they receive legal work authorization at some point. The scope of that law appears much more vague under Totalization. It appears that illegal Mexican workers would only need to return to Mexico to file a claim for benefits. Under current policy, once a worker becomes eligible for Social Security, the U.S. Social Security Administration determines entitlement based on all earnings, even from jobs worked illegally..We at TSCL urge you not to put off medical care if you need it. If you are worried about being infected with the virus call your doctor's or dentist's office and ask them what Covid-19 precautions they are following to protect their patients. Many doctors have taken extra special measures, including requiring that everyone wear a mask and keeping people out of waiting rooms until the actual time of their appointment. Many waiting rooms have far fewer chairs in them, and they are spaced far apart for those patients awaiting their appointments..This cost shift hits includes retirees with the lowest incomes. Specifically it hits their state Medicaid budgets that pay Part B premiums for low-income Medicare beneficiaries - about 19% of all Medicare recipients. If Medicare Part B premiums go up by more than .40 per month in 2021, that would add yet another fiscal shock to state budgets that are already strained to the limit due to the coronavirus pandemic.
