Since 2007 the government has determined Part B premiums based on income. The government uses the most current tax return to determine income. For 2011, your mother's 2009 income was used. Individuals with incomes over ,000 or married couples with incomes of 0,000 are subject to the higher premiums. The healthcare reform legislation passed in 2010 expanded "means testing" to include Part D. Based on income, seniors pay a monthly surcharge of to .10 on top of the premium charged by their plan..Hospitals have prioritized rescheduling patients who do not have COVID-19 but have conditions that may deteriorate if they do not get regular care. Patients receiving cancer treatment need to go to regularly scheduled appointments. Doctors are particularly concerned that patients who have heart or lung disease, hypertension, diabetes, and other chronic conditions get back on a routine care schedule..House Republicans surprised the nation earlier this year by approving an increase to the federal budget debt limit in exchange for passing the "No Budget, No Pay Act." The legislation required Members of Congress in both chambers to pass a budget resolution by April 15, 2013, or their pay would be withheld until they do. According to a TSCL poll, 62 percent of seniors thought the "No Budget, No Pay Act" was a smart move that would get the legislative process back on track..In addition, one new cosponsor Rep. Marcia Fudge signed on to the Social Security Fairness Act, bringing the total up to one hundred and twenty-one. If signed into law, the Social Security Fairness Act would repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision two federal provisions that unfairly reduce the earned Social Security benefits of millions of teachers, fire fighters, peace officers, and other state or local government employees each year..SSA Announces 2018 COLA.The proposal is at odds with how older Americans think Congress should address Social Security revenues, according to TSCL's 2017 Senior Survey, which is conducted nationally through the mail and online. When asked about options to shore up Social Security financing, 58 percent of participants said they support proposals that would very gradually increase the payroll tax rate by 1 percent each for workers and employers. The largest percentage, 73 percent, support raising the amount of wages subject to Social Security, currently 7,200, to cover all wages..According to a new survey by The Senior Citizens League, premiums for Medicare supplemental insurance, known as Medigap, grew more than twice as fast as Social Security cost of living -adjustments in the past year. About 41 percent of survey participants who are covered by a Medigap policy report robust premium increases in the past 12 months of at least 6 percent or more, particularly for individuals who were covered by a policy for more than two years. "The Social Security COLA for 2019 is 2.8 percent, far lower than the rate that Medigap policies appear to be growing," says Mary Johnson, a Social Security and Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League..How to Hold That Thought.Alexandria, VA deadline is looming for more than 8.9 million disabled Social Security beneficiaries as well as 1.8 million of their children, warns The Senior Citizens League. So far Congress has not made public any long-term plan to head off a 20% cut of Social Security disability benefits that would occur in about two years. "All Social Security beneficiaries are waiting to learn how our newly elected lawmakers intend to remedy the situation," says TSCL Chairman, Ed Cates.

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This week, The Senior Citizens League endorsed two bills that would expand Medicare coverage to include hearing, dental, and vision services. In addition, lawmakers prepared for a week-long recess on Friday, and two key Social Security bills gained cosponsors..If signed into law, the bill would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset two provisions of the Social Security Act that cut the earned benefits of millions of teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public servants each year. Because these individuals receive pensions from their state or local governments, their monthly Social Security checks are arbitrarily reduced, often by one-half or more..TSCL is happy to announce that one key piece of legislation gained support in the House of Representatives this week. The Improving Access to Affordable Prescription Drugs Act gained a new cosponsor in Representative Pete Visclosky, bringing the total up to twenty. If signed into law, H.R. 1776 would require the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries, allow the importation of prescription drugs from Canada, accelerate the closing of the Part D "doughnut hole," and cap monthly prescription drug expenses at 0, among other things. … Continued

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2013 Medicare & You, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, October, 2012..TSCL opposes these new provisions because we feel strongly that seniors should not be required to cover the cost of the poor policy-making decisions that were made by Congress nearly twenty years ago, when lawmakers first created the SGR. According to the non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation, Medicare beneficiaries will automatically contribute billion in Part B premiums over the next decade to repeal and replace the SGR. TSCL believes any additional cost-sharing including the two new provisions will be unduly harsh..As a result of the COLA projection, it is expected that Medicare's "hold harmless" policy will be applied to a majority of beneficiaries. Around 70 percent of Medicare's current enrollees will continue paying the 4.90 Part B premium in 2016 instead of the projected 9.30 monthly rate, which will be applied to new beneficiaries and some other groups. … Continued

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