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When comparing plans, beneficiaries are generally told to check premium costs, deductibles and other cost-sharing, whether the plan covers the drugs you actually take, provider networks, and added benefits, if any, not covered by Medicare. All of that is essential. But one key consideration that can be overlooked is how the plan uses prior authorization..With Mortgage Rates So Low, Is Now a Good Time For Retired Homeowners To Refinance?.This week, The Senior Citizens League was pleased to see support grow for two key bills..To be best prepared, jot down some questions for which you would like answers. Below are six sample questions feel free to take them with you and share them with others at your next town hall..Two House Bills Gain New Support.This week, lawmakers in the House and Senate continued working on legislation that would comprehensively reform the tax code. In addition, The Senior Citizens League saw support grow for one key bill that would comprehensively reform the prescription drug industry..House Subcommittee Holds "Doc Fix" Hearing.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..Senate Confirms New CMS Administrator

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My frail mother was in the hospital after passing out and falling. She stayed "in observation" for four days and received a number of tests for stroke, heart and circulatory problems. After discharge, her doctor said she needed nursing home care. The nursing home warned us that if mother's hospital stay was observation Medicare would not cover the nursing home stay. She has received several large bills for the hospital care. We can't afford to pay for this care out-of-pocket. Can you suggest anything?.As an indicator of low inflation, based on consumer price index data through April of this year, Johnson estimates that the COLA for 2019 will be about 1.7%percent. That number could change, since there are still five months of consumer price index data to be collected before the Social Security Administration announces the COLA in October..2017 TSCL Senior Survey, "5th Annual Consumer Survey on Social Security," Nationwide Retirement Institute, April 201"25% of High Earners Have a Huge Misunderstanding About Social Security," Retire With Money newsletter, Elizabeth O'Brien, Time.com, Money, April 25, 2018. … Continued

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TSCL is strongly opposed to plans to "chain the COLA." Such a switch has been estimated to reduce Social Security benefits by about 7% over a 30-year retirement. An average benefit of ,300 in 2017 would be about 5 per month less at the end of the period than it would be using the current CPI. An index that causes higher taxes, and lower retirement benefits, make the chained CPI a bad deal for older Americans..Most of the money that Social Security pays out to current beneficiaries comes from payroll taxes. According to the Social Security Trustees, the program received 5.1 billion in payroll taxes in 201Social Security also received an estimated .9 billion from the taxation of Social Security benefits, and .9 billion in interest was earned on special issue non-marketable bonds held by the trust fund last year..Petition to Congress: Put an End to Dramatic Increases in Prescription Drug Costs … Continued