Womens Health Policy Issue Brief Medicaid Work Requirements Implications For Low Income Womens CoverageIn 2012, the GPO reduced by two-thirds the Social Security benefits received by nearly 600,000 surviving spouses who also collect a government pension. Nine out of 10 public employees affected by the GPO lose their entire spousal benefit, even though their spouse paid Social Security taxes for many years..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..Your doctor signs a home health care certification, confirming that you are homebound and need intermittent skilled care. The certification also must state that your doctor as approved a plan of care for you and that the face to face meeting requirement was met. … Continued
Interactive Kff Health Tracking Poll The Publics Views On The AcaThis week, The Senior Citizens League endorsed two bills that would expand Medicare coverage to include hearing, dental, and vision services. In addition, lawmakers prepared for a week-long recess on Friday, and two key Social Security bills gained cosponsors..In January, one-third of all Medicare beneficiaries could see a Part B premium increase of 22 percent the highest increase in 27 years. Do you believe Congress should take action like it did last year to prevent the dramatic increase?.Coming to Congress, just one year ago, I pledged to make rural healthcare a top priority. One of the first things I did was to join the Rural Health Care Coalition, a bi-partisan coalition committed to advancing rural priorities in health care policy in Congress. The first action we took this Congress was to introduce the Health Care Access and Rural Equity Act of 200The H-CARE Act is a comprehensive piece of legislation that makes important improvements to help rural healthcare providers address the challenges associated with delivering quality healthcare close to home. … Continued