Would a Higher Cost-of-Living-Adjustment in Social Security Make Me Ineligible for Medicaid? Q: I recently read that if retirees got higher cost-of-living-adjustments some low-income people would lose eligibility for ...
Author Archives: georgette
Q & A: September/October 2016
Should I Drop Medigap For Medicare Advantage? Q: My Medigap premium is more than $250 per month. I’m paying $104.60 for Medicare Part B and $40 per month for a Part D plan. I’ve learned there’s a Medicare Advantage ...
Social Security Benefits Lose 23% of Buying Power
Rising household costs and record low cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) in recent years are eroding the buying power of more than 57 million Social Security recipients. In fact, Social Security benefits have lost 23% o ...
The Big Issue: High Prescription Drug Costs
Eighty-five percent of older voters think Medicare should be allowed to negotiate drug prices, like it does for all other medical services, according to TSCL’s 2016 Senior Survey. Prescription drugs are one of the faste ...
As 65th Birthday Nears, Phone Rings With Medicare Robocalls
Mary Johnson, editor Next month I turn 65, start Medicare and my expensive Obamacare health plan ends. Happy day!!! For the past two years my health plan premiums were almost as much as my mortgage payments. This yea ...
Shopping for Medicare Coverage For The First Time?
What you don’t know about Medicare supplements (Medigap) or Medicare Advantage plans could cost you dearly. The system is rigged in favor of Medicare insurers, and consumers often have little idea what they will need or ...
Benefit Bulletin: August 2016
78% Of Older Voters Support Strengthening Social Security By Raising Payroll Taxes Voters have opposed benefit cuts in the past as a way to fix Social Security. But TSCL’s new 2016 Senior Survey found that older voter ...
Legislative Update: August 2016
Questions To Ask The Candidates At Your Next Town Hall By Jessie Gibbons, Senior Policy Analyst Congress has adjourned for a month-long recess and, with the November elections looming, many lawmakers will be holding to ...
Congressional Corner: The Federal Government Must Be More Careful With Social Security Numbers
Rep. David Valadao (CA-21) Each year, more than 13 million people become victims of some sort of identity theft or identify fraud resulting in over $16 billion of stolen money. In fact, identity theft is one of the fas ...
Ask the Advisor: August 2016
By Mary Johnson, editor I Did Not Order This Prescription. Do I Have To Pay For It? Q: My doctor recently changed one of my prescriptions and faxed a new one in to my health plan’s mail order pharmacy. I received it ...