After weeks of debate by the House-Senate Conference Committee, President Obama signed the payroll tax holiday and temporary "doc fix" into law this week. Other action on Capitol Hill remained slow this week, as both Houses of Congress have adjourned for the Presidents Day Recess..After Surgery What Can I Do About Unexpected Bills?.If you buy your diabetic testing supplies through mail order, you MUST get your supplies through contract suppliers in Medicare's new National Mail Order Program in order for Medicare to pay. This applies to beneficiaries living in all parts of the United States. Medicare defines mail order as all home deliveries..Meanwhile, Republicans argued that Medicare should not be expanded when its hospital fund is already slated to be insolvent in 2026..TSCL Announces Support for New Bill.Based on the result of this poll, The Senior Citizens League has endorsed legislation called the Seniors Have Eyes, Ears, and Teeth Act, a bill introduced by Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard and 131 cosponsors in the House of Representatives. If adopted, H.R. 508 would expand Medicare coverage to include essential hearing, vision, and dental services..The Senior Citizens League strongly endorses legislation that would guarantee that COLAs are no lower than 3% and is working with Congress for the passage of an emergency COLA benefit boost for 2021..Even though the rate of inflation is dropping, a proposal that would switch to a more slowly-growing CPI to calculate COLA continues to be pushed by proponents on both sides. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the "chained" CPI would reduce the federal budget deficit by more than 0 billion in the first ten years. It would do so by cutting the growth in a host of federal benefit programs, including military retirement in addition to Social Security, as well as increasing revenues if used to index the tax code..Medicare Part D's True Out-of-Pocket-Cost spending requirements which are unusually high as it is, are poised to make a stunning and unprecedented jump in 2020. Unless Congress takes action, the Part D doughnut hole coverage gap will swell by 25% next year, from ,100 in 2019, to ,350 in 2020 before the catastrophic phase of coverage kicks in. This would be the largest increase in Part D's required out–of–pocket spending ever, since the start of the program in 2006.

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McCaskill compared such pharmaceutical industry's activities to those of Congressional lobbyists, and argued that doctors, like politicians, must be required to publicly disclose any gift they receive..Dining On A Social Security Budget.The Senior Citizens League agrees that these faults in the program are unacceptable and unsustainable. With over ten thousand Baby Boomers becoming eligible for Social Security benefits every day, Congress must act to ensure that SSA is fully funded and equipped with the leadership that is needed to serve our older and disabled Americans. As Ranking Member John Larson said at Wednesday's hearing, "What is Social Security if not the full faith and credit of the United States government?" … Continued

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For years, TSCL has been advocating on Capitol Hill for a more fair and accurate Social Security COLA for beneficiaries. The Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act legislation introduced by Rep. Michael Honda is a common-sense solution that would better protect the purchasing power of Social Security benefits since it would use a more accurate measure of inflation..Increasing the payroll tax rate gradually by around 1 percent for both workers and employers. Doing so would amount to an additional 50 cents per week for the average American worker an amount that TSCL feels is reasonable..Maintenance and repair: This doesn't refer to occasional jobs like painting and replacing a roof, for which you may need to tap savings or a home equity line of credit. This category covers the far more common on-going repair headaches like leaky plumbing, failed furnaces, and drafty windows. Housekeeping and gardening services and equipment also come under this expense category. As seniors age, the need for services grows as health and living circumstances change. A common rule of thumb is to establish from 2% to 4% of the value of your home as your annual maintenance and repair budget. If 2% is too big of a stretch, forcing you to spend down your savings faster than you intended, you may want to think about downsizing your home as a new year's resolution, and look for newer, more modest housing in a less expensive area or even renting. … Continued

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