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VA chief makes 1st hospital visit amid scandal
Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald visited a VA hospital Friday for the first time since taking over the embattled agency last month, meeting with veterans and health care providers and vowing to restore trust in the organization. Reports that dozens…
Congressional Budget Office Report on Veterans’ Disability Compensation Finds a Rise of 55 …
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) oversees a disability program that makes payments through the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) to compensate U.S. veterans for medical conditions or injuries that are incurred or aggravated during active duty in the military, although…
How immigration can save Medicare
Next week I’m scheduled for a cervical spinal fusion that costs upward of $100,000, but I won’t be paying for it.Like 50 million other Medicare recipients, I will receive the care I need more or less free of charge thanks…
The House should vote to kill the death tax
Political parties may not agree on much, but one surprising exception in Washington is death tax repeal. Currently the top federal rate on the taxable estates is 40 percent, and it is one of the most widely hated and immoral…
Long-Term Unfunded Liabilities for Medicare and Social Security Reach $49 Trillion
The Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees’ 2014 report shows that Medicare and Social Security, the most popular government programs in the U.S., have reached nearly $49 trillion in long-term unfunded liabilities. This equates to a liability of more…
The service-connected disability benefit
This week I would like to tell you about the service-connected disability benefit and how you may qualify for it. Let’s begin at the beginning: When should you apply for the service-connected disability benefit? There is no mandatory time frame…
For geezers and millennials alike, Social Security must be secured
We are likely entering a generational conflict. The fight over Social Security is going to be portrayed as greedy geezers vs. meanie millennials. We must not allow this battle to proceed. We must be smarter as a society. Today, more than 50…
Almost 20 percent of people near retirement age have no retirement savings
One in five people who are near retirement age have zero money saved. Yes, you read that correctly. The sobering statistic was one of many released by the Federal Reserve on Thursday as part of its report on the economic well-being of…
Another Attempt To Expand Medicare Coverage For Telemedicine
Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives are not giving up on expanding Medicare coverage for telemedical services. In 2012, Glenn Thompson (R-Pennsylvania) introduced legislation amending Title VIII of the Social Security Act with sweeping changes that would allow…
OPM finally finishes ‘phased retirement’ rules for federal workers
The Office of Personnel Management on Thursday released the final rules for a much-anticipated “phased retirement” program for federal workers, saying agencies can begin processing applications in November. The move comes more than two years after Congress passed a law approving the option, which…