Fall Congressional Recess Continues.Even more surprising is what isn't showing up on the list - medical costs. The cost of medical care services still increased 2.5 times faster than the COLA, rising by 3.2 percent. That's nothing new. In many years medical costs have increased more rapidly than in 2020. Emergency coronavirus legislation last spring restricted what providers could charge for many COVID-19 related services, and large numbers of patients and their doctors postponed non-urgent care..Prior to their recess the House of Representatives was able to pass 10 of the 12 spending bills that are needed to fund the government for fiscal year 2020. However, as has been the case for several years, the Senate lags behind. As a result, the Senate has been discussing combining various spending bills instead of passing them one by one..What financial actions have you been forced to take over the past 12 months? Please take TSCL's new Retirement Survey and let us know!."But all bets would be off if the current payroll tax system is eliminated, or changed to something else," Johnson says. Getting rid of the payroll tax raises a great many questions as to how benefits would be calculated. Currently, retirement benefits are calculated on the 35 years of highest earnings. "Because wages tend to grow over time, replacing the current system with something else could mean lower benefits," Johnson points out..On Wednesday, TSCL's Board of Trustees, along with former Congressman David Funderburk and Mrs. Betty Funderburk, and legislative analyst Jessie Gibbons, held meetings on Capitol Hill in seven Congressional offices. TSCL's dedicated, all-volunteer Board of Trustees consists of the following members: chairman Larry Hyland, vice-chairman Tom O'Connell, secretary Charlie Flowers, treasurer Ed Cates, political action committee treasurer Michael Gales, and board liaison and president of The Retired Enlisted Association Arthur Cooper..The report, which was published in the medical journal Heart, also notes that the more you eat, the greater your risk, with each additional weekly serving of a half-cup of fried food increasing that risk by 3 percent..There are several types of Medicare Advantage plans, and not all are available in all areas. Many are health maintenance organizations, but there are also preferred provider organizations and special needs plans, among others. Under traditional Medicare with a Medigap plan, you may go to any doctor who accepts Medicare. But in a Medicare Advantage HMO plan you need to use network healthcare providers in order to get coverage. If you are treated by non-network providers, you would be responsible for 100% of the out-of-pocket costs, and Medicare would not cover the cost of the claim. If the plan is a PPO, however, you would have greater flexibility to go out of network, but you would pay higher co-pays or co-insurance. Before selecting any Medicare Advantage plan, check the lists of network doctors, hospitals and other providers! It is not unheard of for Medicare Advantage plans to market to people who live a good distance from the nearest in network health care provider..doctor decide if you qualify or one that requires that a person be unable to perform two activities of daily living. Some require more. Look for coverage

The Canvass September 2017

The Obama Administration recently opened the "illegals may apply" window at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Even before the government started accepting applications, estimates of those expected to qualify, more than doubled from the original government projections released just two months earlier. Nearly 1.8 million illegal immigrants under the age of 31 could become eligible. As details emerge, TSCL is concerned that the program is far broader than early announcements suggested..TSCL will watch closely to see what, if anything, is introduced in Congress to boost Social Security payments for seniors and we will keep you posted as things move forward..House speaker Paul Ryan's proposal to overhaul Medicare by providing beneficiaries a subsidy or voucher to shop for private insurance on a federal health exchange has been included in House budget blue prints numerous times, but voters are overwhelmingly opposed to the idea. The plan would give private insurance plans a greater role in Medicare, and beneficiaries would be given a subsidy to shop for insurance coverage. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the plan would shift a growing share of the costs to beneficiaries. … Continued

Five Years Big Difference At Health District One Hospital

The index used to determine the COLA of retirees does not measure the spending patterns of retirees, but younger workers instead. Retirees, we all know, spend their money differently than younger people and must spend a far bigger share of their budgets on housing and medical costs - two categories of spending that often rise several times faster than overall inflation..A third option was introduced by Senator Rand Paul in June. His plan would repeal the SGR and base payments on the same formula that is used to calculate cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security benefits. It would cap annual pay increases for providers at three percent, allowing physicians to practice without the threat of annual reimbursement cuts..This is not a sustainable spending pattern for retired and disabled households. In recent years, Social Security recipients more typically reported that housing and medical expenses, not food, increased the fastest and were the two top cost concerns. … Continued

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