Latest News
An Unexpected Spike for Medicare Premiums?
(By – ANNE TERGESEN, www.wsj.com) Unless the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services intervenes, some Medicare beneficiaries will face a steep increase in their 2016 premiums, even as the vast majority of Medicare recipients pay no increase at all. Medicare’s trustees projected…
Social Security’s future
(Source – www.ellsworthamerican.com) Within weeks of taking office, the next president of the United States must begin fitting his or her promises and plans for the nation’s economy into a budget proposal. It is likely that no challenge will be greater…
Couple Convicted Of Scheme To Defraud Social Security Out Of Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars
(Source – www.wchstv.com) Prosecutors said a Boyd County couple has been convicted in connection to defrauding Social Security out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. On Wednesday, Diana Lynn Ball, 57, of Ashland was convicted of one count of Supplemental Security Income…
Do we really have a retirement crisis?
(Source – www.cbsnews.com) “Have we got a crisis, or merely a series of hard problems?” This question was posed at a recent panel discussion at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) during a discussion of retirement readiness in the U.S. During the past…
Debunking Common Social Security Myths
(By – EMILY GUY BIRKEN, moneyning.com) Social Security will celebrate its 80th birthday on August 14, 2015. In honor of eight decades of the program, let’s look at some of the common urban legends about one of America’s most popular government…
Medicare’s Next 50 Years: More Home Care, Less Red Tape
(By – Shannon Firth, MedPage Today) Sen. Ron Wyden (D- OR), ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, identifies four areas in which Medicare could be a leader in clinical care, while Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX), chairman of the House Ways…
Social Security: Administration launches Social Security Matters
(By – Ray Vigil, www.lcsun-news.com) Social Security recently launched its new blog, Social Security Matters. This is our new location for engaging with you by answering questions and concerns in a more sharable and interactive way. This is where you’ll see…
Representatives Schakowsky, Matsui and Murphy Introduce Resolution to Protect and Expand Social Security
(Source: www.schakowsky.house.gov, via www.enewspf.com) Today Representatives Jan Schakowsky, Doris O. Matsui, Patrick Murphy and 57 of their colleagues introduced H.Res. 393, a resolution expressing Congressional support for efforts to protect and expand Social Security while securing its long-term future. The resolution…
Social Security’s Financial Soundness Should Be Addressed Now; Disability Fund Still Projected to Be Depleted Next Year
(Source – American Academy of Actuaries) T he Social Security Trustees Report is a detailed annual assessment that serves as a basis for discussions of Social Security’s financial problems and their solutions. Social Security’s chief actuary prepares and certifies the financial…
The Politics of Medicare and Medicaid, 50 Years Later
(By – Kenneth T. Walsh, www.usnews.com) There’s an important lesson for today’s politicians in the genesis of Medicare, one of the nation’s landmark social programs, which was created July 30, 1965 – 50 years ago this week. It’s that government can do…