hold nonprofit hospitals more accountable for the billions of dollars in annual tax exemptions they enjoy,

Sen. Charles Grassley is weighing proposing legislation in early 2009 that would aides to the Iowa senator said.

The legislation would require nonprofit hospitals to spend a minimum amount on free care for the poor, also known as charity care, and set curbs on executive compensation and conflicts of interest, according to staff members for Mr. Grassley, ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee.


The Herald News
A nurse tends to a patient at Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet, Ill. The nonprofit hospital has caught the attention of Sen. Charles Grassley, who wants entities like Silver Cross to spend a minimum amount on free care for the poor.
Nonprofit hospitals account for the majority of hospitals in the U.S. In return for not paying taxes, they are expected to provide benefits to their communities, including charity care. Some, though, have curbed charity care, while others have closed facilities in blighted inner-city neighborhoods while building new suburban campuses.

Under the new legislation, penalties would be imposed on nonprofit hospitals that fail to meet the new requirements, Sen. Grassley's aides said. The penalties could escalate from taxes and fines to stripping a hospital of its federal-tax exemption if it continues to misbehave, they say.

Sen. Grassley is working on the proposed legislation with several Senate colleagues, including New Mexico Democrat Jeff Bingaman, and is hoping to capitalize on the momentum for health-care change in Washington. But he is likely to run into stiff resistance from the hospital industry's powerful lobby, making the chances that such a bill would pass difficult to handicap.

Alicia Mitchell, a spokeswoman for the American Hospital Association, said such legislation would be premature given that nonprofit hospitals haven't had a chance to demonstrate their goodwill under new Internal Revenue Service reporting requirements. "Hospitals do more to assist the poor, the sick and the elderly than any other part of the health-care system," she said.

In the past, Sen. Grassley's staff has suggested that nonprofit hospitals should spend at least 5% of their patient revenue on charity care. It is unclear whether the legislation under consideration would adopt that threshold, his aides said.

One penalty being discussed by Sen. Grassley's staff would be a new excise tax on so-called private-benefit transactions. Such a tax could be applied to executive compensation deemed excessive or to contracts tainted by conflicts of interest. The senator's staff also is weighing fines that could be levied against hospital executives and board members.

The senator would first like to try to get the Treasury Department to reinstate charity-care requirements that were undone by the IRS in 1969. If that doesn't happen, he is ready to introduce a bill in the first quarter of 2009, members of his staff said.

While Sen. Grassley has long criticized the nonprofit-hospital sector for failing to justify its tax exemptions, his aides say persistent evidence that some nonprofit hospitals continue to act uncharitably has made him think that legislation may be necessary.

Sen. Grassley's office cited a recent case brought to its attention involving Silver Cross Hospital, a nonprofit hospital in Joliet, Ill. The patient, a self-employed insurance salesman named John DeMarco, underwent emergency colon surgery at Silver Cross in January 2007.

Before the surgery, Mr. DeMarco says, he told the hospital his health insurance wouldn't cover the operation because it stemmed from a pre-existing condition. The hospital nonetheless billed him for $45,155.52 and eventually sued him when he failed to pay.

A few months after his colon surgery, Mr. DeMarco's wife gave birth to their second child at another hospital. That hospital helped the DeMarcos qualify for Medicaid, the government health-insurance program for the poor.

Sen. Grassley sent Silver Cross a letter Wednesday inquiring why it didn't try to determine whether Mr. DeMarco qualified for Medicaid or other financial assistance. "Given all of the federal benefits Silver Cross receives, I am troubled by Silver Cross' recent legal action against Mr. John DeMarco," the letter says.

Ruth Colby, a spokeswoman for Silver Cross, said the hospital has "great empathy for Mr. DeMarco and what he's been through with his health, his insurance and the aggravation he has experienced with our hospital." But, she said, Silver Cross's records show Mr. DeMarco earned too much to qualify for Medicaid or its charity-care plan. Ms. Colby adds that Silver Cross has since agreed to lower Mr. DeMarco's bill to $10,000.

Silver Cross spent $6.3 million, or 2.8% of its revenue, on charity care in its latest fiscal year. It has come under criticism in Joliet for spending $400 million to build a replacement hospital in an area that is more affluent than its current location.

Ms. Colby says the new facility remains "in the same community" and Silver Cross will continue its commitment to serving poor patients.

Write to John Carreyrou at john.carreyrou@wsj.com and Barbara Martinez at Barbara.Martinez@wsj.com

Massachusetts Plan Olmstead Act

SILC
Quarterly Meeting Minutes
December 3, 2002


Present: See Attendance Sheet

Olmstead Act Discussion: Prior to today's meeting, Bill Henning, Charlie
Carr and Chris Griffin, presented the progress of the Massachusetts' plan
for implementation of the Olmstead Act. Over many months and much debate,
leaders within the disability community participated in the development of
the four subcommittee section reports of Housing, Community Services &
Supports, People at Risk of Institutionalization, and People Who are
Institutionalized which would become the foundation of the Massachusetts'
Olmstead plan. These four reports included 100 strong recommendations,
work plans and time lines required to accomplish this implementation in a
timely fashion. However, when the final version entitled Enhanced
Community Based Services (ECBS) was released, it had been edited or
sanitized and virtually became a plan to develop a plan. It had been so
watered down that only 15 recommendations were left, time lines were
removed and plans to investigate or research were listed.

Many members of the disability community were and are outraged by this
edited version.
Lots of time and energy was spent on the format and content of the four
reports submitted by each subcommittee of which leadership consisted of
co-chairs, one having to be a leader within the disability community. This
was done to ensure that the voice of persons with disabilities was heard
and documented. Unfortunately, much of the input presented by persons with
disabilities was provided, documented and then removed on final editing.
Since persons within the disability community are dissatisfied with the
final released product, a People's Olmstead Plan will be developed. This
will be presented in the Advocacy report.

Bill Henning, Charlie Carr and Chris Griffin made it clear that persons
with disabilities must hound, hound, and hound their legislators in order
to make them aware that the disability community is not satisfied with the
ECBS and wishes their legislators to promote and embrace the People's
Olmstead Plan in its stead. When speaking with legislators on the People's
Olmstead Plan, Henning, Carr and Griffin also proposed discussing
prevention of further Mass Health cuts and prevention of the endorsement
of the Lady of Peace Bill. This bill would mandate the compilation of a
list of persons with psychiatric disabilities which would then be
referenced as individuals not be eligible for purchase of guns.


Previous Meeting Minutes: Minutes were unanimously accepted following
motion made by Mary Margaret Moore and seconded by Dwight Woodworth.

Chair's Report: Statewide legislative trainings will be done through the
DPC and the RAC to teach consumers how to educate their legislators on why
they need to promote Olmstead Plan implementation and to motivate persons
with disabilities on becoming more advocacy oriented. The other advocacy
efforts that will be focused on are maintaining or improving the MRC and
IL line items in the budget. There will be a total of three trainings for
the SILC and two for MRC where all advocacy issues mentioned above will be
prioritized.

Presently there is some restructuring of SILC committees but most are
productively fulfilling their tasks. Title VII Part B Task Force is being
regrouped. Individual reports will be presented below.

The SILC website is being improved. There will be an exchange of
information provided as well as updates on Olmstead.

Mary Margaret Moore made motion to accept this report which was seconded
by Dwight Woodworth. The report was accepted unanimously.

Treasurer's Report: There have two or three meetings for this committee
since last SILC meeting. A need for more members to serve on this
committee exists. If any SILC members are interested, please contact Joe
Bellil or Mary Margaret Moore.

SILC is stable financially with a very workable budget. Thanks to the
advocacy efforts of Karen Langley, the SILC was able to roll over fiscal
year 2002 monies into the 2003 fiscal budget which includes $35,000 for
the IL conference. SILC plans on purchasing an LCD projector for use by
the SILC and any ILC that wishes to use it. Funds were also placed in
budget to maintain the web page.

DPC contract has been signed to provide the legislative trainings for the
SILC. MetroWest will maintain the web page.

There was discussion about possibly changing the format of Treasurer's
report from the present spreadsheet style. Another recommendation was to
put present spreadsheet or cut and paste version of it on the web page.
Final decision was to maintain spreadsheet format and cut and paste
version on web page.

Sonya Perduta made motion to accept Treasurer's report which was seconded
by Dwight Woodworth and then unanimously accepted.

SILC Consultant Report: See attached written report. Dwight Woodworth
made the motion to accept this report. This was unanimously accepted
following a second to motion by Sonya Perduta.

Council Development/Nominations Report: The committee is still working on
moving the list of nominees forward through the governor's office.
Background searches are being done and nominees have received their
paperwork. Hopefully, SILC will make their goal to have 4-5 people
through the process before this administration ends. But, with the
transition of administrations, the committee will stay in touch on a
weekly to keep things moving. This committee is still recruiting new
members. If interested, contact Joe Bellil or Steve Higgins.

There was brief discussion of membership and representation criteria for
the SILC. Mary Margaret Moore added that she would like to see SILC
trainings done to educate the new members once the majority are on board.
Perhaps this might be done in conjunction with the IL conference this
spring or summer or independently of each other.

Mary Margaret Moore made the motion to accept this report which was
seconded by Sonya Perduta. It was unanimously passed.

Evaluation Committee Report: No actual report.

Jack Siciliano from CLW will be chairing this committee. This group is
presently restructuring itself and needs members. For those interested,
call Joe Bellil or Jack Siciliano. Consumer surveys will be sent out soon.
Evaluation of State Plan is pending.

Title VII Part B Task Force Report: No actual report. Pat Royea from CLW
will be chairing this committee. More information to be provided at later
date.

Advocacy Committee Report: The state Olmstead Plan, named the ECBS, did
not meet the disability community's satisfaction or needs. It is
unacceptable.

The disability community members involved have decided that persons with
disabilities need to take charge and set our own direction regarding the
Olmstead Plan. Therefore, a People's Olmstead Plan will be written by
Charlie Carr, Chris Griffin, Paul Spooner and Bill Henning. The People's
Olmstead Plan will be an integration of a preamble, 8-10 clear and
concise objectives, and the 4-subcommittee reports. This document will be
mailed to SILC members & associates, governor Romney & his staff, all
legislators, appropriate state agencies and others to be determined.

The hope is that this document will solidify persons with disabilities to
implement Olmstead as an umbrella for all disability related issues, such
as housing, medicaid cuts, budget issues, transportation, etc.

The advocacy committee wants the SILC to adopt this above strategy of the
People's Olmstead Plan, carry it forward and distribute it according to
the above list. The committee would like all members to monitor the SILC
web page for updates and act appropriately. There was a recommendation to
include the media in all of the above endeavors.

Mary Margaret Moore made the motion that the SILC sponsor the development
of the People's Olmstead Plan as stated above. Dwight Woodworth seconded
it.
Discussion ensued with recommendations that it be formatted as a business
plan and that it clearly states that the service delivery monies must
follow the person into the community. Housing was also discussed as an
issue with recommendations of supporting the housing bond bill and
querying DMR for potential housing funds. This motion was unanimously
accepted.

Mary Margaret Moore made another motion that the SILC endorse the rally
tomorrow to prevent any further Mass Health cuts and to restore the Mass
Health cuts already done. Dwight Woodworth seconded it. A friendly
amendment was added that people attend the rally. Dwight Woodworth
accepted the friendly amendment and the motion carried unanimously.

Mary Margaret made the motion to accept the advocacy report. Dwight
Woodworth seconded it and it was unanimously accepted.

Karen Langley discussed the Facilities Consolidation Bond which includes
sections on Integrated Housing, Home Loan Program and the Community Based
Housing bond. She asks that all ILCs call their legislators to support
this by tomorrow.

501(c)3 Report: Not too much to report. The PROs and the CONs of going to
non-profit status were reviewed. Pat Royea of CLW will be the new
chairperson. Mary Margaret Moore has offered her support to Pat, if she
wishes it, during her transition as chair.

Announcements:

1. Lisa Maisels from the Office on Health & Disability states that women
with disabilities are needed as models for a DPH Mammography education
program. Anyone interested in being a model or assisting with other
aspects of this program, please call her at 617.624.5960 or Joe Bellil at
the SILC office.

2. SILC has received $35,000 for the IL Conference. The planning
committee needs to be appointed to start planning the conference with the
hopes of it being scheduled at an earlier date than last year. SILC
members who volunteered for this committee are: Sonya Perduta, Paul
Spooner, Mary Margaret Moore, Joe Bellil and Pat Royea.

3. Discussion of other SILCs and their organization ensued especially in
regards to whether the governor or the SILC body should appoint the SILC
chairperson. Our SILC has decided to let our new governor know that we
believe that the SILC membership appoint the SILC chair and not an
external agent, such as the governor.

4. A reminder was made by Karen Langley that the 704 reports are due on
January 31st .
Some discussion occurred regarding the consumer satisfaction surveys.

This SILC Meeting was adjourned with a reminder that the next meeting
would
be in March 2003 at a date to be determined.


Respectfully submitted,


Sonya Perduta-Fulginiti
Secretary of the SILC

Pace Program

The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) is a capitated benefit authorized by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) that features a comprehensive service delivery system and integrated Medicare and Medicaid financing. The program is modeled on the system of acute and long term care services developed by On Lok Senior Health Services in San Francisco, California. The model was tested through CMS (then HCFA) demonstration projects that began in the mid-1980s. The PACE model was developed to address the needs of long-term care clients, providers, and payers. For most participants, the comprehensive service package permits them to continue living at home while receiving services rather than be institutionalized. Capitated financing allows providers to deliver all services participants need rather than be limited to those reimbursable under the Medicare and Medicaid fee-for-service systems.

The BBA established the PACE model of care as a permanent entity within the Medicare program and enables States to provide PACE services to Medicaid beneficiaries as a State option. The State plan must include PACE as an optional Medicaid benefit before the State and the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) can enter into program agreements with PACE providers.

Participants must be at least 55 years old, live in the PACE service area, and be certified as eligible for nursing home care by the appropriate State agency. The PACE program becomes the sole source of services for Medicare and Medicaid eligible enrollees.

An interdisciplinary team, consisting of professional and paraprofessional staff, assesses participants' needs, develops care plans, and delivers all services (including acute care services and when necessary, nursing facility services) which are integrated for a seamless provision of total care. PACE programs provide social and medical services primarily in an adult day health center, supplemented by in-home and referral services in accordance with the participant's needs. The PACE service package must include all Medicare and Medicaid covered services, and other services determined necessary by the interdisciplinary team for the care of the PACE participant.

PACE providers receive monthly Medicare and Medicaid capitation payments for each eligible enrollee. Medicare eligible participants who are not eligible for Medicaid pay monthly premiums equal to the Medicaid capitation amount, but no deductibles, coinsurance, or other type of Medicare or Medicaid cost-sharing applies. PACE providers assume full financial risk for participants' care without limits on amount, duration, or scope of services.

“Lifeline For Seniors

Circuit Breaker Called “Lifeline For Seniors”The UMass Boston Gerontology Institute is releasing a new report, Lifelines for Elders Living on the Edge: How Elder Support Programs Compare to Living Costs. The new Lifelines report benchmarks income limits, asset limits and benefit levels for the range of elder help programs to the cost of living in Massachusetts as measured by the Elder Economic Security Standard, which measures the real cost of living for seniors in every Massachusetts county. Lifelines include examples of how each program help elders, as well as when they fall short. There is one particular state tax benefit that is singled out as being especially valuable financially to the elderly. According to report author Laura Heinz Russell, “For people 65 and older, the MAIncome Tax Senior Circuit Breaker Tax Credit -- and the range of state and local property tax exemption, deferral and work-off programs -- can go a long way to help stretch your budget dollars -- and can start helping you right now.” Russell is Director of the Elders Living on the Edge Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston Gerontology Institute.Under the Circuit Breaker, seniors whose property taxes plus half of water and sewer bills, or 25% of rent, exceeds 10% of their income, can get a refundable tax credit of that amount up to a cap that increases with inflation. The credit is set at $930 in 2008. Like the Earned Income Tax Credit, you don’t have to earn enough to owe Massachusetts income taxes; you just need to fill out Form 1 and Schedule CB to get the tax credit check to help defray the cost of your property taxes or rent. The law allows qualifying seniors, if they have not yet filed for the credit, to file for three years retroactively. Within weeks of applying, they can receive a refundable tax credit – a check – for up to $2,610 if they qualify for the maximum amount each year. The income limits were set as a percentage of median incomes, and are adjusted for inflation each year. For 2008 the income limits are $49,000 for an individual, $62,000 for a head of household, and $74,000 for a couple. The house value limit was recently raised by the legislature and is pegged to the housing consumer price index; for 2008 the house value limit is $793,000. In addition to filing now for the past three years, seniors can file again with their 2008 returns. The combined four years of help to offset property taxes can reach $3,540, about three times last year’s maximum fuel assistance payment of $1,165, almost twice the maximum food card payment of $1,944, and nearly 12 times the IRS economic stimulus payment of $300 per person.. Add them together and you have real money to help meet skyrocketing bills. Fuel assistance and food cards (net income after deductions) are available to those with incomes under 200% of the federal poverty level, $20,800 for a household of one and $28,000 for a household of two.Group Pushes ForCredit Card ReformThe group Consumer’s Union, the nonprofit publisher of the magazine, Consumer Reports, says that as federal lawmakers passed a huge bailout for Wall Street, it’s time for Congress to take concrete steps to fix the problems that got us here. Consumer’s Union says “real credit card reform”, as passed by the House of Representatives, should have been part of any financial package signed into law. Credit card reforms would end some of the most abusive tactics used by credit card banks.

As home
values drop and home equity disappears, many families are relying on their credit cards to make ends meet. Credit card issuers take advantage of this situation by engaging in reckless and unfair lending practices, hitting cardholders with costly and unjustified interest rates and fees. Such fees and interest rate hikes on existing credit card balances can seriously destabilize a family’s finances quickly, as they must make minimum payments that are substantially higher than before.The credit card reform proposal will not prevent consumers from getting access to credit. Instead, it will level the playing field for consumers in several significant ways:-- It will stop companies from hiking interest rates on existing balances if the customer hasn’t been more than 30 days late paying; -- More fairly distribute payments to high-interest debt. Companies now keep consumers from paying down high-interest balances until we’ve paid off low-interest ones first;-- End bait and switch contract clauses, where companies give themselves the right to raise fees or interest rates at any time for any, or no, reason.--Prohibit granting credit cards to children under 18.For more information, go to Consumer’sUnion credicardreform.orgCongress Freezes Spending, Leaves TownWith the turmoil of the worldwide financial markets and the looming elections, lawmakers had their hands full in October. Although expected to adjourn for the year in late September, Congress stayed in session an extra week to deal with a host of pressing issues, particularly the massive bailout package.According to the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) a number of bills that were priorities for seniors got lost in the Wall Street meltdown. Most measures, including the GIVE Act (S. 3532), which provides tax benefits to volunteer drivers, the Elder Justice Act (S. 1070) and emergency spending for Older Americans Act programs, which did not advance in the final days. Congress did pass a continuing resolution (CR) that would continue funding for all federal programs not already funded for FY 2009, the vast majority of those at FY 2008 spending levels. The CR will run through March 6, a point at which the Democratic majority in Congress hopes to be dealing with an Administration more supportive of their funding priorities. Programs funded under the CR, such as the Older Americans Act, Social Services Block Grant, Section 202 Elderly Housing, Community Services Block Grant, and many others, will be frozen at FY 2008 levels until Congress revisits the CR. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) was one of a small handful of successful lobbying effort for elderly consumers. LIHEAPreceived an additional $2.8 billion over FY2008 levels, bringing its total appropriation to $5.1 billion.In another positive move, the mental health parity bill finally passed both chambers of Congress. Named after longtime Senate champions for mental health parity, the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act requires health insurance plans that offer mental health coverage to provide the same financial and treatment coverage offered for other physical illnesses. The bill does not mandate that a group plan provide any mental health coverage, however. The legislation builds on 1996 parity legislation, to cover deductibles, co-payments, out-of-pocket expenses, coinsurance, covered hospital days and covered out-patient visits. The final bill represents compromises between House and Senate versions and is expected to improve the mental health coverage of 113 million Americans.Another last-minute accomplishment, according to n4a, was Senate passage of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (H.R. 6893). This measure authorizes subsidized guardianship to enable children in the care of grandparents and other relatives to exit foster care into permanency. It establishes kinship navigator programs to help link relative caregivers to a broad range of services and supports; requiring notice be given to adult relatives of a child if he or she is placed in foster care; and allowing some states flexibility in licensing standards for relative foster parents.
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Unfortunately, the gloomy economic news did not help advance the second stimulus package favored largely by Democrats. In the Senate, the stimulus measure included $60 million in emergency spending for Older Americans Act (OAA) meals programs. House Democratic leaders have said they may want to bring Congress back after the election for a “lame duck” session to work on a stimulus package, but it’s unclear at this time if that is a realistic scenario.Another casualty was the Elder Justice Act. The Senate version (S. 1070) was primed to move quickly through in the final days, but then two Senators put “holds” on the measure, preventing it from advancing on the fast track. A House bill (H.R. 5352) containing several of the law enforcement elements of the Elder Justice Act did pass the House in late September, but the entire EJA bill (H.R. 1783) did not advance.Also on the missing-in-action list, the GIVE Act (S. 3532) gained a lot of steam in the waning days of the session, but it was not attached to one of the larger, moving bills. The Giving Incentives for Volunteers (GIVE) Act would increase the deduction rate to 27 cents per mile and would give the Treasury Department the authority to raise that rate, and increase the nontaxable reimbursement rate to 58.5 cents per mile. These changes would be valuable to recruiting and retaining volunteer drivers, since under current law, volunteer drivers are only allowed to claim a 14 cents/mile tax deduction to cover some of the costs of using personal vehicles for volunteer service. In addition, if an a nonprofit does reimburse a volunteer for driving costs, only the first 14 cents/mile of that reimbursement is considered nontaxable income for the volunteer.Congress Passes Landmark Disability Rights LawThe Associated Press called it ‘one of the more momentous pieces of civil rights legislation in recent years.” A new collaborative effort among some of America’s largest business associations and leading disability and civil rights advocates promoted the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Amendments Act of 2008. Like other landmark civil rights laws, the Americans with Disabilities Act has transformed the nation since its enactment in 1990. As enacted, it outlaws discrimination against people with disabilities at work and in public life. The ADA has helped millions of Americans with disabilities to enter and to excel in the workplace. The law has made America a more accessible country with ramps, curb cuts, Braille signs, and captioned television programs. But disability rights advocates says that over the last decade, judicial decisions have excluded and left vulnerable individuals who should have been covered under the current ADA law. For example, as the courts’ interpretations stand now, many people with epilepsy who take medication to control the condition, or whose seizures only occur periodically, are no longer covered by the ADA. Narrow interpretations are hurting people with disabilities and hurting employers – that’s why the employer and disability groups joined forces to pass this new law.The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 balances protections for individuals with disabilities and the obligations and requirements of employers. The new law specifically overturns Supreme Court decisions that have caused too many people with disabilities whom Congress intended the ADA to cover to lose important protection. The new law makes it clear that Congress intended the ADA’s coverage to be broad, to cover anyone who faces unfair discrimination because
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of a disability. It clarifies the current requirement that an impairment must substantially limit a major life activity in order to be considered a disability. The ADA Amendments law prohibits consideration of mitigating measures in the determination of whether an individual has a disability, with the exception of ordinary eyeglasses and contact lenses. The law provides broad coverage for individuals “regarded as” having a disability under the ADA, and includes a provision to make it clear that accommodations need not be made for someone who is disabled solely because he or she is “regarded as” having a disability. The law provides protection for the first time to workers with serious ailments such as diabetes, epilepsy, and cancer. Supporters say the new law should cut down on the number of lawsuits over the implementation of the ADA. Advocates say this law would not have passed without a broad coalition of employers and disability advocates, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, Society for Human Resource Management and HR Policy Association. The goal was to ensure that all Americans have a fair opportunity to secure employment. The law was the result of two years of cooperation between business groups and disability rights groups. Two out of three people with significant disabilities are unemployed—a statistic which has not changed since the ADAwas passed 18 years ago. Advocates hope the 2008 Amendments will help improve that number. Social Security COLARises Nearly 6%Inflation is not all bad news. The Social Security Administration announced this months that Social Security benefits for 50 million people will go up 5.8%next year, which is the largest increase in more than a quarter century. The increase, which will begin January, 1, 2009, will mean an additional $63 per month for the average retiree, or $756. Even that cost of living adjustment won’t be enough to pay for fill up of your oil tank. Next year’scost of living increase will go to more than 55 million Americans. More than 50 million receive Social Security benefits while the rest get Supplemental Security Income payments for the poor. The 2009 COLAis the largest increase since a 7.4% jump in 1982 and is more than double the 2.3% increase that retirees got in their monthly checks starting in January of this year.The typical retiree’s monthly check will go from $1,090 currently to $1,153. The average couple, both getting Social Security benefits, will see their monthly check go up by $103 a month to $1,876. The standard Supplemental Security Income payment for a couple will go from $956 per month to $1,011. The SSI payment for an individual will go from $637 per month to $674 per month. The average monthly check for a disabled worker will go from $1,006 to $1,064.In addition to the cost of living adjustment, the government announced Thursday that the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax will increase next year to $106,800, up from $102,000 this year.The increase would have been even higher, but after racing ahead earlier in the year, energy costs fell in both August and September, helping to moderate the overall price gain.The 5.8% rise in the cost of living adjustment is a sharp departure from recent years. The COLAincreases have been below 3 percent in 12 of the past 15 years. Even with the big increase, the COLA is well below the gains of the late 1970s and early 1980s when the country went through a ten year period of high inflation. The biggest cost of living benefit on record was a 14.3% increase in 1980. Social Security benefits have been adjusted every year since 1975.In another piece of good news, Social Security indicated that the monthly premiums for Medicare Part B (physician services) will not go up. The bad news is the Part B premium is already at $96.40 a month. Some higher income households will see an increase in their Part B premiums.

Home Articles Social Security Trust Fund Sits In Government Filing Cabinet

KOHL-MCCASKILL BILL SPURS GOVERNMENT TO RESOLVE ISSUE OF ILLEGAL GARNISHMENT OF SS BENEFITS

KOHL-MCCASKILL BILL SPURS GOVERNMENT TO RESOLVE ISSUE OF ILLEGAL GARNISHMENT OF SS BENEFITS


Contact: Ashley Glacel - (202) 224-5364
Monday, April 14, 2008



WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Senators Herb Kohl (D-WI), Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) introduced the Illegal Garnishment Prevention Act, a bill that would prevent the U.S. Department of Treasury from promoting the use of direct deposit for Social Security beneficiaries until they put a stop to the illegal garnishment of government benefits from the bank accounts of private citizens. With increasing frequency, financial institutions are garnishing or freezing funds on behalf of creditors from bank accounts into which Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Veterans benefits are electronically deposited, despite clear protections in federal law against the garnishment of such benefits.

“Millions of seniors rely on their Social Security benefits as their only source of income for basic needs like housing and food. When financial institutions and creditors illegally withhold these benefit checks, they are putting the lives of our most vulnerable segment of the population at risk. We need to know how wide-spread this practice has become and find a way to make it stop,” Kohl said.

“For many seniors and disabled Americans, social security checks keep them financially afloat from month to month. When banks garnish these funds, they are left with nothing. We need to be very careful to make sure proper safeguards are in place to protect seniors in this situation, and this bill will guarantee they are” McCaskill said.

In most cases, the protected funds are taken not only by the creditor, but also by the bank through the collection of additional fees levied for “processing” the garnishment. These can include overdraft charges or insufficient fund charges, which occur as the result of the garnishment. Some banks have also been found to dip into these protected funds to cover other debts owed to the bank, such as a car loan. Many older Americans rely on Social Security benefits to pay their rent, buy groceries, and afford prescription drugs. For twenty percent of seniors over 65 years old, Social Security is their only source of income and for two-thirds it is the major source of income.

In August 2007, Kohl, McCaskill, and Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) sent a letter to the Social Security Administration’s Inspector General asking him to investigate the increasingly frequent but prohibited method of collecting debt from senior citizens, veterans, and the disabled. The senators requested that the Social Security Administration's Inspector General report to them the degree to which large and small banks are engaged in these practices and the extent to which the resulting fees are eating up the safety net funds upon which seniors, veterans and the disabled rely. It is anticipated that the results of the SSA OIG’s investigation will be released in coming weeks.

“In recent months several newspapers have published articles describing how financial institutions have been freezing and assessing fees on accounts in which Social Security and Veterans' benefits are electronically deposited,” the letter read. “Sadly, the majority of the individuals to whom this is occurring are those who can least afford it.”

In November 2007, Senators Kohl, McCaskill, and Baucus were joined by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Gordon H. Smith (R-OR), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Richard Shelby (R-AL), and John Kerry (D-MA) in urging the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Jim Nussle, to play a role in resolving the matter. The letter requested that Director Nussle implore one or more of the five federal agencies with jurisdiction over America’s financial institutions to issue a necessary rule clarification.

# # #

A link to the August 2007 letter to the SSA OIG can be found here:
http://www.aging.senate.gov/letters/ssgarnishmentssaoig.pdf

A link to the November 2007 letter to the OMB can be found here:
http://www.aging.senate.gov/letters/ssgarnishmentomb.pdf
Posted by Malden Senior at 6:26 PM 0 comments
Labels: Maldensenior.retirement, social secuity. medicare.MSAC.seniors, social security. MSAC
Unbanked Americans Prepaid Debit Cards

Comerica Bank Named as Card Issuer
Washington, D.C. - (Jan. 4, 2008) - The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Management Service (FMS) has designated Comerica Bank as its financial agent in a new initiative to give millions of unbanked Americans the option of using a prepaid debit card for receiving Social Security and other federal benefit payments. The "Direct Express®" card provides a safer and more convenient alternative to paper checks. Comerica Bank was selected, in part, because of its experience as a prepaid card issuer for millions of benefit recipients, particularly for state government programs.

"Direct Express represents a significant step forward in the evolution of federal benefit payments," said FMS Commissioner Judy Tillman. "The explosive growth in the prepaid card industry offers an important opportunity for Treasury to give unbanked payment recipients secure, easy access to their funds, at low or no cost to the cardholder. We ultimately would like to see an all-electronic Treasury - with all the security, efficiency and cost savings that would entail. This card takes us closer to that goal by combining the best in payment innovation with sound public policy. If every unbanked federal check recipient signed up to use the card, it would save taxpayers about $44 million per year."

The Treasury estimates that four million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) check recipients do not have bank accounts, placing them at greater risk of check delivery delays due to poor weather, national or local emergencies, and other check related problems, such as lost or stolen checks. In fact, nine times out of 10, problems with Social Security payments are linked to paper checks, not direct deposit.

Financial Flexibility and Security

The Direct Express card will be introduced in spring 2008 and will be phased into national distribution by the end of the summer. Direct Express card holders will benefit from improved financial flexibility and security as compared to paper check recipients.

Each month, payments will be automatically deposited on the Direct Express card account on the federal beneficiary's designated payment day - which means people will have faster access to their money than they would if they had to cash a paper check. Card holders will be able to access their money at ATMs and financial institutions nationwide. They will be able to use their card to get cash back and make purchases at retail locations, as well as pay bills and make purchases online. In addition, these accounts are PIN-protected, FDIC-insured, and subject to federal consumer protection regulations (Regulation E).

"Millions of federal beneficiaries remain outside the banking system, which means they don't have access to payment methods that most Americans take for granted, such as getting cash at an ATM or paying with a card at a store," said Nora Arpin, Director of Government Electronic Solutions for Comerica Bank. "The Direct Express card provides an opportunity for people outside of the banking system, either because of personal choice or perhaps their inability to obtain a bank account, to gain a foothold in the financial mainstream."

The Treasury has already experienced significant success in increasing electronic payments with its Go Direct campaign, which is aimed at motivating banked federal benefit recipients to switch from paper checks to direct deposit. To date, Go Direct has achieved more than 1.6 million direct deposit conversions.

"Direct Express" is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Financial Management Service.


Last Updated: Thursday January 03, 2008
Posted by Malden Senior at 11:14 AM 1 comments
Labels: Maldensenior.retirement, social secuity. medicare.MSAC.seniors, social security. MSAC, SOCIAL SECURITY.CONGESS.COLA, social security.lFederal Legislation
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Social Security notch "babies"

"So near, and yet so far."

If Fred Astaire were still alive, he'd be singing that about our efforts to secure Social Security fairness for "Notch Babies" - those born between 1917 and 1926, whose Social Security benefits were cut in 1977, just as we were planning to retire.

For the past several sessions of Congress, Representative Ralph Hall of Texas has introduced legislation to right that wrong. This year he and his colleagues are closer than ever. Right now there are 124 co-sponsors of this legislation in Congress, more than we've ever had (you can see who they are here). And, there's now a Senate resolution calling for Notch Reform.

It'll be an uphill battle, but we've fought uphill battles before, haven't we? In fact, growing up during the Great Depression, coming of age during World War II, discovering a cure for Polio for our children, working to keep us ahead during the Cold War, you could say we're the generation that specializes in uphill battles!

Will you help our fight to bring this important legislation to an up-or-down vote in Congress? Please, sign our Notch Fairness Petition, if you haven't already, and contribute to our Notch Fairness Campaign to help keep this legislation on track.

This won't be easy, though, for two reasons:

First, Congress has a lot on its mind right now - mostly, how to get reelected in November, but also a weakening economy, rising energy costs, the war on terror, etc. We need to keep this basic issue of fairness in front of them every day.

Second, well, look around you, my friend. The ranks of "Notch Babies" are thinning. I think there are those cold-hearted number-crunchers who think that if they wait long enough, the "Notch Babies" will be too old and weak to be heard, and they can just forget about the issue.

Now is the time to act.

If your friends don't know what the Social Security Notch Problem is, let them know that, in 1977, with the first "looming crisis" in Social Security funding, Congress changed the rules and reduced benefits for those born between 1917 and 1926. According to our studies, the benefits that Notch Babies receive can be as much as $3,000 per year lower than other seniors born outside the Notch years.

Please, sign our petition now. Then, do two more things today:

First, please contribute, even just $10 or $15 if you can, to help us keep calling and visiting Capitol Hill to push forward this important piece of basic fairness.

Second, please send this email to your reunion buddies, your fellow parishioners, family and friends, and help us grow our list of petition signers until it becomes a chorus too loud for Congress to ignore. (The petition is open to all Americans, not just those born in the Notch Years. Your children, and their friends, can sign it too.)

I'll keep you posted on our efforts on Notch Reform and the battles we fight on other fronts to defend your earned benefits.


Daniel O'Connell,
Chairman, TSCL Board of Trustees
909 N. Washington St. #300, Alexandria, VA 22314




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Posted by Malden Senior at 6:26 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Social Security Trust Fund









Trust Fund Sits In Government Filing Cabinet | Print | E-mail
TSCL Calls On Congress to Enact Lock Box Legislation
There actually is a Social Security Trust Fund — of sorts. It lays nestled in the bottom drawer of an unremarkable filing cabinet in a government office building in West Virginia. It’s kept in a pair of loose-leaf notebooks holding plastic page covers, and each page resents a bond worth billions, according to a 2005 story from The Associated Press. Today, the total “assets” in the Social Security Trust Fund are worth more than $2.2 trillion.

The paper is “symbolic,” a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Public Debt says. According to The Associated Press, in 1994 Congress anticipated the current debate about Social Security’s solvency and whether the Trust Funds held anything more than I.O.U.s. Congress passed legislation requiring the Treasury to create a physical document “rather than an accounting entry.” Andy Jacobs, the former Indiana Congressman responsible for the law, said he wanted to rebut the “disingenuous assertions” that there was no trust fund, even though there was, in fact, no vault stuffed with cash to pay benefits.

Earlier this year the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the Social Security Trust Fund ended 2007 with a rip roarin’ surplus of $187 billion, and this year the Trust Fund is projected to end with $197 billion. But almost all of that is “interest” earned on the IOUs. Just how much?
If the interest earned by the Social Security Trust Fund is excluded, and only real cash revenues counted, 2007 ended with a surplus of only $80 billion instead of $187 billion, and the Trust Fund is projected to end 2008 with a surplus of $79 billion instead of $197 billion, according to the 2008 Social Security Trustees Report. The Social Security Trustees further estimate that the program costs will begin to exceed cash revenues in 2017, or about nine years from now.

The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) believes that the first step to “saving” Social Security and Medicare is to stop the government from borrowing excess program revenues and to protect the extra funds for paying benefits. “If Congress is going to ‘save’ Medicare and Social Security, then lawmakers must stop using Medicare and Social Security Trust Fund monies as a piggybank for other government spending, ” states Daniel O’Connell, Chairman of TSCL. TSCL supports “The Social Security and Medicare Lock-Box Act” (H.R. 4338), introduced in the House by Representative Timothy Walberg (MI), and (S. 302), introduced in the Senate by Senator David Vitter (LA). The bill would establish a procedure to safeguard the surpluses of the Social Security and Medicare hospital insurance trust funds, and already has bi-partisan support.

Sources: “Social Security Trust Fund Sits In Drawer,” The Associated Press, February 28, 2005. “The Budget And Economic Outlook,” CBO, January 2008. 2008 Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports, March 25, 2008.



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Copyright © 2007 The Senior Citizens League | 703-548-5568 | 909 N. Washington St. #300, Alexandria, VA 22314
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Posted by Malden Senior at 8:24 AM 0 comments
Labels: social security.lFederal Legislation
Monday, May 19, 2008
PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE.


One of the top priorities you have as a citizen and voter is the protection of social security and medicare for current and future retirees.
Among top priorities I urge our elected representatives to defeat privatation and other propoaals that theaten our retirement security.
Presindent Roosevelt and Congress created Social Security in 1935 to protect retired Americans from a proverty ridden old age.
America's more than 36 million seniors have paid hard-earned money into Social Security and Medicare during their long working lives.
Social Security represent a covenant between the government and its citizens.
Posted by Malden Senior at 11:14 AM 0 comments
Labels: social secuity. medicare.MSAC.seniors
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Social Security Benefits and COLA

ARE YOU CONCERNED BECAUSE YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY CHECKS DO NOT KEEP UP WITH SKYROCKETING MEDICARE PREMIUMS, PRESCIPTIONS, FOOD, FUEL, INSURANCE AND HEALTH CARE COST?
We older Americans need to make sure the COLA does the job it was designed to do--something that is more important than ever as costs keep rising
COLA IS FAILING TO DO ITS JOB!!!
It is a fact that for 24 years, government officials have known there is a major flaw in the way COLA is calculated and have not corrected it. Now there is legislation before congress that will make this correction--that will a larger and more fair annual COLA
This is not "extra" money--but the benefit to which you are entitled.
YOU EARNED IT AND SHOULD RECEIVE IT!!!!!
Your recent Social Security COLA was 2.3% about 20$ less than last year.
Legislation now before congress would correct the COLA calculation to more accurately reflect the buying patterns of older Americans. Over 100 Members of congress gave their written support to this change during the last session of Congress, and in a major effort to increase support for current COLA bills.
BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT IS PAYING YOU LESS THAN IT SHOULD YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY BUYING POWER IS DROPPING AS HEALTHCARE, PRESCRIOPTIONS, INSURANCE, FOOD AND OTHER COSTS RISE I AM SURE YOU FEEL THE REDUCTION IN YOUR BUYING POWER.
BEING IN MALDEN AN URGENT APPPEAL URGE YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS U.S. REPRESENTIVE MARKEY AND U.S. SENATORS SENATORS KENNEDY AND KERRY TO VOTE FOR LEGISLATION NOW IN CONGRESS TO HELP CORRECT A MAJOR FLAW IN THE WAY YOUR COCIAL SECURITY IS CALCULATED?
Posted by Malden Senior at 8:40 AM 0 comments
Labels: SOCIAL SECURITY.CONGESS.COLA
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Social Security Over 70


Lyric Wallwork Winik
Published: August 7, 2005
Social Security Turns 70

Social Security turns 70 this month. While both sides debate how to keep the program healthy, here are a few fascinating facts about it:

* A legal secretary was the first person to collect monthly benefits. She paid $24.75 in taxes to the program (1937-39) before retiring and got back more than $22,000, living until 1975.

* The tax rate for Social Security (including the employer contribution) initially was 2%; it’s now 12.4%. In 1937, only the first $3000 of income was taxed; today, it’s $90,000.

* Last year, 48 million Americans got Social Security. Until 2004, even felons on the run were allowed benefits by law. A 2001 audit showed that $31 million had been paid to the dead, mostly because of poor record-keeping.

* The average monthly retirement benefit is $955; 40% of Americans over 65 reportedly would be in poverty without Social Security. In general, to qualify, you must spend 10 years in the workforce and earn the minimum each year (now $3680).
Posted by Malden Senior at 1:40 PM 0 comments
Labels: Maldensenior.retirement, social security. MSAC
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KOHL-MCCASKILL BILL SPURS GOVERNMENT TO RESOLVE IS...
Unbanked Americans Prepaid Debit Cards
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Social Security notch "babies"
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Social Security Trust Fund
PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE.
Social Security Benefits and COLA
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Keep Medicare Fair
Social Security Contract
About Me

Malden Senior
View my complete profile

Senior Affected by Financial Collapse

Last week, the stock market was down more 1,363 over a three-day period. Although many of you may not own stocks, this still affects you.

Henry Paulson, the U.S. Treasury Secretary has asked for $700 billion to purchase troubled mortgages to restore confidence in the stock markets. This falls on the heels of the $85 billion loan to American International Group (AIG), the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the bail out of mortgage giants Fredie Mac and Fannie May.

Did the fact that the “gorilla”, Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld, received a $22 million bonus in March 2008, or AIG’s CEO receiving a multi-million dollar compensation package affect the down turn of these companies? You, as a taxpayer, are now being asked to bail out these companies.

In addition to the $700 billion bailout, the Security and Exchange Commission has stopped a practice know as short sales of 800 financial companies, to try and help end the downward trend in these financial companies. A short sale is a transaction that you enter in betting that a certain stock will go down in price. You pay a fee for the right to sell a certain stock at today’s price, even though you never own the stock.

Example: In the last year GE has dropped from $42 to $22 per share. Let’s say that when it was $42 you were sure that GE was headed for tough times because of it’s risky mortgage holdings. You call your broker and tell him you want to short 1,000 shares of GE. Later when the stock drops to $22, you decide to sell all 1,000 shares at $42. To complete the deal you have to cover your position by buying 1,000 shares at $22. This short sale results in a profit of $20,000.

Last Wednesday, something very strange happened in the financial markets. Money market account managers were dumping risky investments and buying U.S. Treasury Bills so quickly that there was a negative return. Generally, you purchase a Treasury Bill at a discount and in 30, 60 or 90 days it matures at full value. But last Wednesday, people were paying $101 to receive $100 at maturity — crazy, but true.

Currently, the Treasury Bills are earning .94 percent and the two-year Treasury Notes are at 2.14 percent. This is better than the zero percent Treasury Bills were earning last week but not much help to seniors who rely upon interest income to supplement their social security during their retirement years.

For most people, the general rule is that as you approach retirement, you should shift from risky to stable investments. So, given the fact that last week, even money market accounts lost value, where’s the safest place to put your money?

For most seniors, keeping your funds in either a FDIC insured bank or investing in US obligations probably makes sense. Bank accounts are FDIC insured for up to $100,000. Can you have more than $100,000 protection at any one bank? Yes, joint accounts are treated as owned equally by each of the joint account holders. So, if a married couple with one child has all three names on the account, they will each have $100,000 FDIC insurance and will be protected up to $300,000. US Treasury Notes and Bills are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States and are widely regarded as safe as a bank account with FDIC insurance.

Diversification of your portfolio and accepting some amount of risk is the right thing to do for wealthy seniors and those who have not reached retirement age yet. A Certified Financial Planner can help these individuals by evaluating their tolerance for risk and selecting a portfolio of investments. Retired seniors with limited funds should stick to the safe investments, even though rates of return are at all time lows.

This article gives general information and not specific advice on individual matters. Persons wanting individualized advice on matters discussed should contact an advisor experienced in those matters. To the extent this article provides information on legal matters, it is based on law in effect in Massachusetts on the date of posting (laws in effect in other states are often quite different).

Ronald H. Surabian is a CPA and attorney who works at the Elder Law Center in Saugus, Massachusetts. If you have any questions please call me at the Elder Law Center, One Essex Street, Saugus, MA 01906 (781-233-4444). To view this or any prior article, visit www.elderlawcenter.org



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tmn754 days ago
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Oddly enough, the financial collapse has affected all people, of all ages, in all income brackets, in some way. So why is it that our advice and assistance from the federal level all the way down to the local levels only focuses on certain portions of our populations (i.e. those already living under the federal poverty line [which, coincidentally, includes many Senior Citizens], those who lost a great deal but had a great deal to lose and homeowners alone)?

There was a relatively recent editorial in another Boston news outlet, penned by a Harvard-ite, that noted while news and financial focus in the foreclosure crisis homed in exclusively on the homeowners themselves, it completely ignored the plight of renters - renters in all income brackets - who suddenly find themselves displaced because their landlord lost the building in foreclosure and neglected to tell those tenants.

What of employees of all ages who invested in 401(k) plans? This is where we've been hit the hardest in our household. Over 70% of a moderate investment 401(k) was lost in the crash.

And what of the average person who is teetering on the edge of collapse, in any age group? There are many who are just hanging on, who are still too well off (insert chuckle here) to qualify for any form of assistance but are facing total collapse with one more ill-directed wind.

Why do we focus so exclusively on cerain populations? Why do we wait until the worst happens before we step in to lend advice or a helping hand?
MaldenseniorWe try to help the most vulnerable of our population the Seniors and disabled who need help because they have been forced to spend down to be a pauper before they can get assisstance. They make the mistake of living too long (ouliving their savings) Many survived the Depression era the World War II
Korean Conflict and up and down of unemployment and the cycle of inflation. The money was not easily flowing in the past years as it is in recent time. Wait your time is at hand.
Please note: It may take up to 15 minutes for your comment to appear on this page.
MaldenseniorNot many Seniors in Malden have to worry about FDIC insurance for the meager savings.

Long Term Health Care I

Deb Whitman, staff director of the Senate Special Committee on Aging and an adviser to the Obama for President campaign, told the symposium that the Democratic candidate would:

Support prevention efforts to help avoid chronic diseases
Strengthen Medicare and Medicaid
Amend the Family Medical Leave Act, which allows for 10 weeks of leave to care for an ailing family member, to apply to companies with 25 or more employees, rather than the current 50 employees
Fully fund the Respite Care Program, which gives federal dollars to states to run short-term care programs to give primary caregivers a break from their daily routine
Increase funding for loan repayment to attract and retain more home healthcare workers
Push for legislation that would require nursing homes to report staffing levels
Double funding for the NIH for research into treatments and cures for old-age diseases such as Alzheimer's
Jay Khosla, healthcare policy adviser to the John McCain for President campaign and former health counsel for then-Senate majority leader Bill Frist, M.D., said the GOP candidate would:

Allow for the purchase of long-term life insurance through health savings accounts
Encourage young people to purchase long-term care insurance
Promote scholarship programs for those pursuing careers as caregivers
Make the purchase of long-term care a tax-deductible expense
Other panelists agreed that individuals must take personal responsibility for the eventuality of paying for long-term care for themselves or a loved one.

Read Full Article (medpage TODAY)

Comments

Empowered at Home Act Introduced

Cosponsors Needed
August 4, 2008: The Empowered at Home Act, S. 3327, would increase the number of older adults and people with disabilities who are eligible for Medicaid coverage for adult day services and home care. Just introduced by Sens. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and John Kerry (D-MA), it now needs more cosponsors to move it forward in the Senate.

The legislation strengthens the Medicaid home and community-based state plan option under Section 1915(i) waivers by making income eligibility standards the same for Medicaid coverage of home- and community-based services and institutional care (300% of SSI). Limitations on the scope of services allowable under 1915(i) waivers would disappear, and states would no longer be able to limit the number of individuals eligible for home and community-based services. A new 1915(k) waiver would concentrate services and funding for individuals who are high risk of institutionalization. State grants also would be available for consumer-directed care. We are especially pleased that the bill promotes and protects community living with spousal impoverishment protections for home- and community-based services recipients.

Please urge your senators to sign onto this legislation to make home- and community-based services more available under the Medicaid program.
Take Action Now!

Medicare DoNut hole

September 2, 2008
Editorial
Medicare’s Troubling Drug Gap
Probably no aspect of the new Medicare drug program has caused more confusion and irritation than the notorious “doughnut hole,” a gap in coverage that forces people who had been getting their drugs cheaply to suddenly pay the full price out of pocket. Now, for the first time, an analysis has quantified what happened last year when millions of beneficiaries fell into the gap. For patients with serious chronic conditions, the medical implications were very troubling.

Congress crafted the “doughnut hole” to limit federal spending on the drug benefit. Beneficiaries pay only deductibles and co-payments, with the rest covered by their insurance plan, until their drug purchases reach a specified limit. Last year, the gap began when beneficiaries purchased $2,400 worth of drugs. Then they fell into the doughnut hole and had to pay the full cost until their out-of-pocket spending reached $3,850, at which point they qualified for catastrophic coverage.

Last year, an estimated 3.4 million beneficiaries reached the coverage gap, according to a study by researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation, Georgetown University and the National Opinion Research Center, or NORC, at the University of Chicago. Beneficiaries taking drugs to treat such chronic conditions as Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, depression, osteoporosis and high blood pressure were especially likely to reach the gap.

What’s disturbing is that 15 percent of the beneficiaries taking drugs in eight categories said they stopped taking their medications when they reached the gap. Another 1 percent reduced their use by skipping doses, and 5 percent switched to another drug that was cheaper but might or might not be as effective.

For the 10 percent of diabetics who stopped taking their medication after reaching the gap, the health consequences could be immediate and serious. For those with high cholesterol or osteoporosis, the harm could take longer to show up but could still be serious.

There is no easy solution short of increasing federal spending or finding a way to drive down the cost of drugs. The program has helped millions of older Americans. The next administration and Congress will have to revisit the wisdom and need for the gap.



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Health Insurane Reform

Are the democrats likely to pass bold health reforms or are they afraid to rock the private insurance boat? The country has a consensus for expanded health coverage, but experience shows you can't achieve universal coverage at an affordable price unless you throw out the insurance companies overhead and profit. Have the Democrats learned this lesson or is 'universal coverage,' merely a euphemism for the right to purchase private health insurance? Has health reform flatlined

POOR IN U.S. PUNISHED FOR SAVING MONEY

Comments to Mass Senior Action Council
From
Howard McGowan, Metro North Chapter

I read an article that “hit home” in a local paper because it affects members of MSAC
and low income citizens in Massachusetts and directly applies to my situation.
I would like to read a summary of the points made and the way it can be applied to my
Situation.
The Federal Government has been urging people to sock away money for their
retirement
Low Income families would be foolish to take that advise!
FACT Low Income Households face “Astronomical” penalties for saving.
We are constantly told we need to save early and often to prepare for retirement yet
Government policies tell low income families that if you save for the future you won’t get
help today.
TAX CODE Increased set aside incentives to save for retirement that wipes out savings by Qualifying for income tax credit.
Putting aside a few dollars in a retirement plan can
Disqualify for food stamps, healthcare benefits as well as assistance given to poor
Families w/children Loss of Benefits year after year compounded into a large loss over period of time
People start saving thinking they are going to be treated fairly and then they get
Clobbered
They do not know what happened!!!
There are ways to achieve our savings
Objectives without kicking people in the head if they try to work and save.

I can relate to this stated position..
I am a product of the depression era as are many of the M S A C members who can relate.
As a veteran of the Marine Corps who enlisted and served proudly believing all the
promises of the government. I purchased War Bonds (with the urging and advise of my
Superiors) and made an allotment to my folks back home. The bonds grew to a “nest Egg”
With the money I lent the war effort in two years overseas service in the Pacific besides
Stateside service. After taking on GI bill “catch up” education I was able to get a work
record and IRA savings restricted by the government tax code so lent money to
“Uncle Sam”by purchasing savings bonds to secure my retirement . I became a victim
of the Social Security reform
When they adjusted the system by creating “Notch babies” and assuring me a lower
Social Security payments. I took (with the blessing of the government in their effort
to open jobs for younger workers) early retirement at 62. I am now 83 and guess
Took advantage of the Social Security System by living beyond their calculations.
Now that my wife and I are in need of some government services the tell me to become
A pauper and then apply for help. They are means testing me to death and want to
consider getting rid of my Lend to the government that was my backup to remain
Independent.

N C O A is pleased to announce a new Access to Benefits Campaign to improve assistance for low-income Medicare beneficiaries. The 1. Medicare Prescription Drug Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) and the Medicare Savings Programs (MSP) provide significant assistance to low-income Medicare beneficiaries in paying their premiums and cost-sharing. Unfortunately, enrollment rates in these programs have historically been very low. For example, up to 4.2 million low-income Medicare beneficiaries are eligible for assistance under the LIS, but are not yet enrolled in the program. Enrollment in one of the MSP programs is estimated at only 13 percent. In addition, the asset test for MSP eligibility has not been updated to reflect inflation in decades and one of the programs is scheduled to expire this September 30.