Blog If Competing Ballot Issues Win Who Really WinsThis week, the American Health Care Act continued to advance through the House, and lawmakers in the Senate voted to confirm Seema Verma as the new administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services..Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle agree that the current payment formula the sustainable growth rate is fundamentally flawed. TSCL was disappointed when the Affordable Care Act did not address the issue in 2010, but many believe that the lame-duck session following the November election will provide a prime opportunity for Congress to finally repeal the faulty formula. The replacement options are numerous, however, and many of them are contentious. Just three months away, it still remains unclear which solution lawmakers could agree upon..The Senior Citizens League continues to monitor the CBO's tax proposal. TSCL supports bills that would reduce the taxation of Social Security benefits while making Social Security payroll taxes more equitable through ensuring that all workers pay their fair share of taxes on all earnings. … Continued
Counterpoint Dont Be Misled By Autism Drug ReportingIf adopted, it would cut .9 trillion from the deficit over the next ten years by implementing a combination of tax increases and spending cuts, around 5 billion of which would come from the health sector. Several proposed changes to the Medicare program are included in the package, including one important measure that would allow the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate prices for high-cost drugs on behalf of Medicare Part D beneficiaries. Doing so would save billions of dollars each year..Here are six steps to take now that can help you slow hitting the doughnut hole.When it comes to the Social Security cost-of-living adjustments many, if not most, of you say that you feel the government is cooking the inflation data. The COLA seldom seems to reflect the growing costs you experience. Two factors are to blame; the choice of a consumer price index used to calculate your COLA, and the methodology that our government uses to calculate price inflation to begin with. … Continued