Latest News
How does the age you Claim affect your Social Security Benefits?
You’ve worked all your life, increased your income over the years, and paid into Social Security. Your top 35 years of earnings will form the basis of your Full Retirement Age. But your benefit is determined by the age you…
Social Security Insolvency
The most recent Social Security Trustees report states that the combined trust funds are expected to be depleted by 2034. Once that happens Social Security benefits for all recipients will be cut by approximately 20%. Maurie Backman for The Motley…
What is the Prompt and Fair Pay Act
The Prompt and Fair Pay Act (H.R. 4559) was introduced to Congress last week. This bipartisan legislation addresses concerns regarding the reimbursement practices of Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, which have been criticized for underpaying and delaying payments to healthcare providers.…
United Healthcare billing practices being scrutinized by Dept. of Justice
Probably the nation’s largest healthcare provider, United Healthcare (UHC) Group, has confirmed that it will fully cooperate with an investigation by the Federal Department of Justice (DOJ) into its Medicare billing practices. Professing full confidence that UHC’s billing processes are…
No Surprise! Most unhappy with their Social Security payments
Although not exactly a blockbuster finding, a recent survey found that by far the majority of seniors are dissatisfied with their monthly Social Security payment. That, of course, is the result of runaway inflation in the past several years, which…
Don’t Obsess over Social Security!
At least one pundit who regularly watches what’s happening with the nation’s most important retirement program isn’t personally obsessing over Social Security’s looming financial issue. The issue at hand is a fact which has been reported by the Trustees of…
Social Security Customer Service: Improving, but slowly.
Since being appointed as the new Commissioner of Social Security, Frank Bisignano is spearheading an intense drive to improve the agency’s customer service. In fact, according to the SSA, service levels have, indeed, improved year-to-year in spite of 70% higher…
Should “means testing” exist for Social Security and Medicare?
In this somewhat unconventional opinion piece, the author opines that both the Social Security and Medicare programs are suffering financial difficulties, largely because many who receive benefits do not actually need them. The author, himself a fairly affluent businessman, contends…
What you should know about Medicare
Medicare is the nation’s most important healthcare program. In fact, over 68 million people are now enrolled in this important program, enacted in 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson. But as encompassing and important as Medicare is, it doesn’t cover all…
Prior Authorization Targeted by CMS Medicare
Under the guise of fraud and waste prevention, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service (CMS),along with dozens of large healthcare insurance companies, have revealed forthcoming changes to the “Prior Authorization” process. Prior Authorization is a process used by various…