Legislators legislator training

Automatic renewals are supposed to make this fall's Open Enrollment under the new health law run more smoothly for consumers like you. But analysts are warning to only do so as a last resort - especially if you qualified for a lower premium. The lower premiums are made possible through premium subsidies, which are actually an advance tax credit based on your income. According to analysts, health insurance exchange customers who like the convenience of automatically renewing are likely to receive outdated and inaccurate premium subsidy amounts that could result in big tax bills later.."Americans' Financial Worries Edge Up In 2016," Gallup, April 201"You Might Need Nearly 0,000 To Pay Health-Care Costs In Retirement," Robert Powell, Market Watch, February 6, 2017..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..In the coming weeks and months, TSCL will continue to advocate against this balanced budget amendment to the constitution, and we will ask lawmakers to protect the earned benefits of older Americans by supporting legislation like H.R. 5466 from Congressman Ted Deutch. For more information or updates from Capitol Hill, visit our website..A ,000 per month budget for medical expenses is a staggering amount to consider. Retirees with the highest costs are not only those with multiple health conditions, but also frequently those who don't have access to employer provided health insurance benefits. This group also includes those who don't have access to competitively priced Medicare Advantage Plans, and therefore pay higher premium costs for Medigap and Part D plans..There are 1,313,935 active members/supporters..Following the vote, Congressman Phil Roe the bill's sponsor said: "After practicing medicine for more than 30 years, I can tell you that no two patients are the same; that different approaches are required for different needs. IPAB is blind to this fact and will ration seniors' access to care through one-size-fits-all payment policies. We can do better, and it's time to go back to the drawing board.".This week, President Obama sent his fiscal 2016 budget blueprint to Congress, and The Senior Citizens League saw one new cosponsor sign on to the Notch Fairness Act..years, seniors participating in TSCL surveys say they are putting off visits to

Fiscal Policy State Actions On Coronavirus Relief Funds
For more progress updates or for more information about these issues, and other bills that would strengthen the Social Security program and make improvements to Medicare, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website or follow TSCL on Twitter..And the order that directs clinics that qualify for steep pharmaceutical discounts under a government program for low-income patients to pass savings on insulin and EpiPens directly to those patients only applies to about 1,000 community health centers, not to hospitals that are frequently flagged as diverting the discounts away from patients toward other programs..Nearly, 1.5 million people are affected by the WEP, which reduces the earned Social Security benefits of an individual who also receives a public pension from a job not covered by Social Security. For example, a teacher who spends his or her summers working a second job or a police officer who leaves the force after years of service but is not quite ready to retire can see their benefits reduced by as much as 40 percent. However, a similar worker with a private sector pension would not see this kind of reduction. We are punishing public sector employees such as our teachers, firefighters, and police officers. … Continued

Are Blue Light Lenses Worth The Cost
Eye exams, eye glasses, and contact lenses..We must ensure benefits earned are benefits maintained. That's why I am proud to cosponsor H.R. 141, bipartisan legislation to eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset in our last Congress. The WEP and GPO unfairly penalize workers who paid into Social Security and earned benefits in addition to receiving a public pension through other work.."Anyone would have to acknowledge that a lot of what has gone on with the pharmaceutical industry as it relates to their contacts with doctors is lobbying, pure and simple," McCaskill said in the hearing. "If we are going to limit the lunches that can be bought for members of Congress in the context of lobbying, shouldn't we have the same kind of disclosures with doctors? And if it is in fact about the patients, the industry should have no problem disclosing how much money they are spending on doctors in terms of recreational time. I'm talking about golf, I'm talking about trips, I'm talking about dinners, I'm talking about expensive wine. Why in the world would we allow that to go on without the public and the patients knowing that's going on?" … Continued

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