Our legislative team will keep a close eye on the legislation as it is implemented in the coming months, and we will continue to advocate for policies that would reduce health care costs for Medicare beneficiaries. For updates on our progress, visit the Legislative News section of our website, or follow our new page on Facebook..Congress still must fund the federal government for FY202They are supposed to do that by the end of September since the new fiscal year starts October But that hasn't been accomplished for the last several years and it is almost certain they won't do it again this year..Tell us what you think! It's time for the TSCL's 2019 Senior Survey. This is your opportunity to let us know what you think about major proposals affecting your benefits. Tell us how rising costs are affecting you. The answers to these questions help us inform journalists, the public, and Members of Congress on how older Americans are faring in retirement today. Your participation is helping to change the national dialogue on the adequacy of Social Security benefits, and throwing a spotlight on the growing problem of the ability of COLAs to maintain the buying power of your benefits..Addressing the Social Security Trust Fund shortfall by increasing both the amount of wages subject to taxation and, increasing the payroll tax rate. The bill would immediately tax wages above 0,000. That threshold would not be adjusted annually, and the current law maximum of 2,900 would continue to increase as scheduled, slowly closing the gap, until all covered earnings would be subject to payroll taxes by 204The bill would raise the payroll tax rate 0.1 percentage point per year until it reached 14.8% - 2.4% higher than today. Currently employees and employers each pay 6.2% for a total of 12.4%..According to a recent story by Judith Graham, a journalist for Kaiser Health News, abrupt terminations of home health therapy services are hitting families across the nation. The terminations are in response to a January 1, 2020 change in how Medicare pays for home health services. Some home health agencies are suggesting that Medicare no longer covers certain home health services. But please note: That is NOT the case..What do you think of the Obama Administration's Immigration Amnesty actions by Executive Order?.Increase the payroll taxable maximum to cover all earnings. Currently high - income workers pay no Social Security taxes on earnings over 8,500. That means someone earning 0,000 stopped paying Social Security taxes at the end of March while middle and low - income earners continue to pay Social Security taxes on all their earnings, all year long. This one change alone would bolster both the disability and retirement program for decades to come..The survey, which was conducted from mid - January to mid-February of this year, asked the following "How has the coronavirus - caused recession affected the value of your retirement savings as of December 31, 2020?" Some 18 percent of survey participants reported that they had no retirement savings at all. Of those with retirement savings, 48 percent reported that the value of their retirement savings was still down on December 31, 2020 from the ending value on December 31, 201Thirty-one percent reported that their savings had recovered to about the same value as on December 31, 201Only 22 percent reported that their savings had increased by December 31, 2020. Of this group, only 9 percent said their savings had increased by more than 10 percent..Why Did Dad Get a Bill for ,944 After Hospitalization for COVID-19?
