Representative Peter DeFazio.On Thursday, after thirty hours of debate, the Senate voted to confirm the nomination of Sylvia Mathews Burwell as the next HHS Secretary. Burwell has served as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget for the past year, and she will now replace Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who announced her resignation in April. In her new position, Burwell will manage the Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid programs, and she will also oversee the continued implementation of the Affordable Care Act, among other things..In recent years a growing number of Medicare beneficiaries are entering hospitals for observation care rather than as inpatients. The number rose 69% in five years according to the most recent national statistics, but over the same period Medicare hospital admissions have declined..The Notch continues because Congress has yet to enact legislation to correct it. Notch Reform has been a highly contentious issue. In 1994 the director of the GAO testified to the Commission on the Social Security Notch saying that the Social Security Trust Fund would not have built up adequate surplus "had notch legislation been enacted at an earlier date." Over those same ten years, however, from 1995 through 2004, the federal government used more than .4 trillion in surplus Social Security revenues that could have been used to pay Notch reform benefits to fund other government spending..The Senior Citizens League is working for enactment of legislative measures that would lower prescription drug costs. To learn how to get involved, visit..We have been hearing from hundreds of you who are watching the inflation numbers and eagerly looking forward to getting a high inflation boost next year. But a number of you point out an urgent problem that occurs when COLAs raise the income of people with lower incomes. The higher inflation boost can sometimes disqualify people of modest means from receiving low-income benefits such as food stamps or rental assistance..So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill..For those planning retirement however, it is the estimated dollar amount in Social Security benefits, not the replacement rate, that what one uses to determine a retirement budget, or how much more one will need to save for retirement. When one retires, it is the actual benefit amount, not the replacement rate that one must live on. One of the most frequent requests for services received by Social Security Administration is for an estimate of benefits. While no promises of benefits are made, millions of estimates are made annually. If the rules are changed abruptly, as they were for those born during the Notch period, this leaves no time to save for the shortfalls in benefits..Caregiving, however, is a huge commitment in time and financial resources for the caregiver, who often has to take time off from work, and give up his or her own retirement savings to provide care for others. Although Susan's mom receives Railroad Retirement benefits and has a small savings to reimburse Susan for expenses, Andrew, who is too disabled to ever have ever worked, is dependent on Medicaid and receives only a modest monthly Social Security disability benefit of just Susan and her husband cover all the rest of Andrew's expenses - housing, food, uncovered medical expenses, transportation, clothing, and anything else.

Medicaid Issue Brief Approved Changes In Indianas Section 1115 Medicaid Waiver Extension

And while Social Security benefits have flat-lined since 2010, retirees report that household expenses are still climbing - causing people to spend retirement savings more quickly and to go into debt. This year Social Security recipients received no COLA at all, but 73 percent of survey participants reported that their monthly expenses grew by more than over the past twelve months. Things aren't likely to improve soon. The Social Security Trust Fund trustees estimate that the COLA in 2017 will be just 0.2 percent - just .00 for ,000 in benefits..Consumer price index data show that the rate of inflation has changed significantly over the past decade, and has yet to return to the average rate during the decade prior to the 2010 Great Recession. From 1999 to 2008, COLAs averaged 3%. Since 2010, however, the COLA, which is tied to the increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, has averaged just 1.4%. Since that year, inflation has been so low that there was no COLA payable three times - in 2010, 2011, and 201In 2017, inflation was almost zero at just 0.3 percentage point. This is not normal, and research on the costs experienced by older Americans indicates the COLA often doesn't reflect inflation that retirees actually experience..TSCL was pleased to see support grow for H.R. 1251 and S. 427 this week, and we will continue to advocate for them tirelessly in the months ahead. For more information, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website. … Continued

Cost Of Voter Identification

First, one new cosponsor Representative Steve Cohen signed on to the Creating Access to Rehabilitation for Every Senior Act, bringing the total up to five. If adopted, this bipartisan bill would improve access to affordable long-term care by eliminating the three-day prior hospitalization requirement that currently limits Medicare's coverage of patient stays in skilled nursing facilities..Trustees tend to report the financial condition of the combined Social Security Trust Funds, including the one that pays retirement benefits, as solvent until 203But there are actually two separate Trust Funds with separate accounting. One Trust Fund cannot borrow or receive reallocated payroll taxes from the other without legislative action from Congress - a short - term fix that Congress has relied on 11 times in the past..Retirees frequently say that their annual cost-of-living adjustment does not adequately keep pace with rising costs. To learn if this is the case, this study, now in its eleventh year, looks at 40 expenditures that are typical for people age 65 and up, comparing the growth in the prices of those goods and services, to the growth in COLAs. … Continued

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