Scientists Develop Way To Stop Breast Cancer From SpreadingAbout one quarter of all Medicare beneficiaries are covered by Medigap polices. Out-of-pocket costs under Medicare are considerable, and most beneficiaries supplement their coverage either by purchasing a Medigap policy or joining a Medicare Advantage plan. Unlike Medicare Advantage, however, Medigap enrollees in most states are not able to switch to another Medigap policy during fall open enrollment, because insurers are not required to cover pre-existing conditions outside of the individual's initial enrollment period. Seventy-two percent of survey participants support extending guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions to Medigap, allowing Medigap enrollees greater freedom to switch to other, less costly, Medigap plans..Two Ways and Means Subcommittees held hearings on reforming Medicare and Social Security this week. On Tuesday, the Health Subcommittee heard from a panel of experts on Medicare reform, and on Thursday, the Social Security Subcommittee met to discuss potential changes to the program..Accelerate or postpone discretionary medical expenses when feasible. The new health law reduced the amount of unreimbursed medical expenses that you can claim when itemizing the deductions. Taxpayers under the age of 65 can claim deductions for expenses that exceed 10 percent of their adjusted gross income. If you are age 65 and older you may still deduct total medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross temporarily but that ends in 201If your expenses are right on the borderline, you may want to take care of any pending medical services and appointments now, so you can boost your deduction for 201If your expenses were too low to claim the medical expense deduction for 2014, consider postponing discretionary services a few weeks into the New Year. … Continued
State Indicator Poor Mental Health Among Adults Days Per MonthFifty-six percent of participants in a national survey by The Senior Citizens League say they pay taxes on their Social Security benefits. "The tax on Social Security income takes new retirees by surprise," says TSCL Chairman Ed Cates. "This is one retirement expense that must be carefully planned for. The government today taxes the Social Security benefits of a majority of older adults, even people with very modest middle incomes," he notes..The recent battle in Congress over lifting the debt limit contained mostly good news and some not so good news, for disabled and retired Americans. The legislation rolled back an unprecedented 52% spike in Medicare Part B premiums due to affect about 15.6 million Medicare recipients, and it prevented a 19% cut in Social Security Disability Insurance benefits due to occur later this year. But the legislation contained no Cost-of-Living Adjustment relief for 2016, and closed off one of the few claiming strategies that some Americans have to boost their Social Security payouts..The Democratic Platform … Continued
