Blog Update The Lowdown On 2019s Ballot MeasuresUnder growing pressure to reduce the federal deficit, the prospect of major Social Security and Medicare cuts is the greatest it's been in almost three decades. The recent debt limit deal calls for a bipartisan committee that has until Thanksgiving to come up with a plan to cut the deficit by .2 trillion. TSCL believes that the committee would very likely include a change to a more slowly growing consumer price index that would cut annual-cost-of-living adjustments. There are also proposals that would require seniors to pay a bigger portion of their Medicare costs..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..Information and assistance … Continued
Health Wellness And Support Protect Yourself When Using A WheelchairMany in Congress talk about the need to "strengthen Social Security," but few offer proposals that would both improve program financing and at the same time improve retirement income. We encourage you to attend town halls this summer and to tell your Members of Congress that Social Security's solvency doesn't require benefit cuts. What Social Security needs is greater tax fairness and requiring all to pay their fair share..New Part D plan drug pricing programs may lower costs for those who seek out the savings. Recent Congressional scrutiny on drug pricing may be spurring some drug plans to drop prices. One of the biggest cost-savings found is a new drug plan pricing program that lowers the cost of insulin. In the 2018, the lowest cost Part D plan charged an copay for a 100/ML of Lantus Solostar. In 2019, a different plan had lowest cost copays charging as little as .00 - .00 for Lantus Solostar, in the Cigna-HealthSpring Rx Secure - Extra Part D plan. The highest cost plan, which does not cover Lantus, charges the full price, 3.18 per 100/ML..Nevertheless, Senate Leader Harry Reid recently went as far as to imply that people like me are lying, saying that "There are plenty of horror stories being told. All of them are untrue, but they're being told all over America." But I'm not making this up. I take this information directly from the government's own website. … Continued