Heal How To Enjoy Thanksgiving When You Have DiabetesLast week was a busy one in Congress. There are 3 reasons for that. First, the worsening of the coronavirus pandemic in many more states and the need to pass another major piece of legislation to deal with its effects..The proposal to cut the growth of COLAs formed a major Social Security reform provision of President Obama's 2010 Fiscal Commission. It would reduce the growth rate in COLAs by switching to the more slowly-growing "chained" CPI. "The switch is insidious because it's enormously complicated to figure out, and it looks so small on paper - just 0.03 tenths of a percentage point," Hyland observes. "But the loss compounds over time. Within a decade it would have a significant financial punch that just keeps getting bigger," Hyland explains. The following chart provided by TSCL illustrates the impact of a chained CPI on a married couple's Social Security benefits, which start at a total of ,500 per month today, and how their benefits change over the first ten years. After ten years the chained CPI would reduce benefits by per month, and would cut benefits by ,488 over the ten-year period..TSCL agrees that legislative action is needed soon in order to avoid harsh benefit cuts for Social Security beneficiaries. In the months ahead, we will continue to advocate tirelessly for legislation like the Social Security 2100 Act, which would strengthen the financing of the program for decades to come while also strengthening benefits for those who depend on them the most. For progress updates, follow TSCL's legislative team on Twitter, or visit the Legislative News section of our website. … Continued
How To Build Your Own Hulahoop And Why You ShouldWhen you get surgery it's often difficult to know the costs in advance. Medicare covers anesthesia provided for medically necessary inpatient or outpatient surgical procedures. But it's important to understand how services like anesthesia work because they are often billed and paid separately, and administered by specific providers who may not be affiliated with your in-network hospital or doctor's practice. In addition, billing errors frequently occur, and bills often need to be corrected and re-submitted for reimbursement. Here are some steps to take to make sure all your bills get paid..If you are having trouble affording costs as they are in 2014, premiums and possibly some of your out-of-pocket costs may be higher in 201If your premium subsidy remains unchanged, that would mean it would be up to you to cover increased costs..A provision of a recently enacted government spending bill restricts Part B premium increases in 202The bill caps the Part B premium increase for next year at the 2020 amount plus 25% of the difference between the 2020 amount and a preliminary amount for 202The preliminary amount would be calculated the same way that it would have been without the bill but would prevent dramatic increases that may have occurred as a result of Medicare Part B premiums growing when the COLA is so low. … Continued