|
|
Insider’s Report: Crisis Averted for Now—Future Benefit Battles Simmer
|
|
|
|
We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your friends and loved ones. Before we jump into the news of the day, all of us here at the National Committee want to take this opportunity to let you know how grateful we are for YOU! Your support, and that of other concerned Americans across the country, is the source of our strength and
|
|
|
|
influence in Washington, DC, and why we have such an impressive record of victory in defense of Social Security and Medicare.
|
|
We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your friends and loved ones. Before we jump into the news of the day, all of us here at the National Committee want to take this opportunity to let you know how grateful we are for YOU! Your support, and that of other concerned Americans across the country, is the source of our strength and influence in Washington, DC, and why we have such an impressive record of victory in defense of Social Security and Medicare.
|
|
Every day we are inspired by your activism, generosity and commitment that helps us keep fighting the good fight. And that activism will be urgently needed in the weeks and months ahead!
|
|
Last week, the new Speaker of the House Mike Johnson managed to pass a short-term spending agreement, which was ultimately passed in the Senate and signed into law by President Biden, that averted a government shutdown. But Speaker Johnson has merely punted big spending decisions into next year.
|
|
Cuts to the programs and services seniors rely on for a healthy and secure retirement remain on the chopping block in Congress. And a “debt commission” to find spending cuts in seniors’ programs is all but a done deal. That’s why we need to continue to urge members of Congress to stand strong in the face of growing pressure to balance the budget on the backs of retirees, workers and our nation’s most vulnerable citizens.
|
|
On the campaign trail, GOP presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Chris Christie have called for raising the retirement age which would amount to a benefit cut for future retirees. Of course, not a single GOP candidate has recommended requiring the wealthy to pay their fair share into Social Security to help shore up the program.
|
|
There is also talk of means testing benefits which would mean only beneficiaries above a certain income level would receive Medicare coverage or Social Security benefits. In fact, this proposal would only significantly reduce spending by cutting benefits on people with incomes of $40,000 a year.
|
|
Here at the National Committee, we believe that all Americans pay into Social Security and Medicare during their working years and deserve benefits at all income levels. Means testing would set a bad precedent that would divide older Americans into “haves” and “have-nots.” As a result, it would erode trust for these programs and undermine the overwhelming bipartisan political support Social Security and Medicare currently enjoy.
|
|
Please help us ensure your voice, as a senior American, is heard loud and clear in Washington during this time of heightened threats to your earned benefits. Sign our Emergency Petition to Congress today!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Keeping Nursing Home Residents Safe
|
|
The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare submitted comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), “Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Minimum Staffing Standards for Long Term Care Facilities and Medicaid Institutional Payment Transparency Reporting.”
|
|
We are gratified that the agency is poised to take bold action in setting national standards that must be designed to keep all residents safe, based on decades of expert clinical study and real-world evidence. The grim toll wrought by Covid-19 on residents and care staff working in nursing homes, together with multiple ongoing investigations and enforcement actions targeting negligence and substandard care, repeatedly point to the role of understaffing in exacerbating resident morbidity and in contributing to premature mortality.
|
|
The National Committee urges the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to heed decades of strong evidence on what constitutes safe staffing in nursing homes. Setting robust standards will encourage those who are most motivated to provide consistently good care to invest in the sector. In contrast, allowing current trends of poor performance that are often driven by understaffing to continue, will likely accelerate trends that drive low quality, market consolidation and a sharp tilt toward for-profits.
|
|
Learn more about the National Committee’s recommendations to strengthen the NPRM.
|
|
|
Ask Us!
|
|
Whether you’re retired or approaching retirement, our team of experts in the field of Social Security policy is available to answer your questions about benefits.
You can either search our archives for valuable advice on a broad range of concerns or submit your question here.
|
|
This week’s question is:
I was just wondering if we will get an increase on our Social Security next year or not?
|
|
Click here to read the answer.
|
|
|
 |
|
Ask Us
|
|
Whether you’re currently retired or approaching retirement, we can help answer your questions and provide valuable advice on Social Security.
|
|
|
 |
|
Join Now/Donate
|
|
Your support sustains our campaigns in Washington to protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare.
|
|
 |
|
Social Security Benefits
|
|
Learn more about the Social Security program and the policies the National Committee supports that would strengthen your earned benefits.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dan Adcock, director of Government Relations and Policy at the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, blasted the legislation in a comment shared with ThinkAdvisor (November 9, 2023, Think Advisor., Melanie Waddell)
|
|
Read Here →
|
|
|
|
What if you could improve your healthcare and save a few bucks while you’re at it? If you’re enrolled in Medicare, this is the time of year when you can make it happen. (November 14, 2023, Morning Star, Mark Miller)
|
|
Read Here →
|
|
|
|
Workers may have jobs where they pay into Social Security or earn pension benefits. When they have both, their Social Security benefits may be adjusted to reflect that. There’s growing support in Congress to either revise those rules or eliminate them altogether. (November 12, 2023, CNBC, Lorie Konish)
|
|
Read Here →
|
|
|
|
The average person has a tough time translating the dire media reports about trust fund depletion into what that means for benefits. Sensational headlines about the program’s future “insolvency” or “bankruptcy” don’t help.” (January 7, 2023, Forbes, John F. Wasik)
|
|
Read More →
|
|
|
|
|
