Health Information Technology (Health IT)—the use of electronic health records to promote efficiency and improve care—holds great promise for improving the speed and effectiveness of our disability decision making process.
So, we’re expanding our Medical Evidence Gathering and Analysis through Health Information Technology (MEGAHIT) program to provide the benefits of Health IT to more of our claimants and more of our health care provider partners.
#1. H.R. 3631
H.R. 3631 protects all Medicare Part B beneficiaries from a premium increase in 2010, including federal retirees who are not eligible to receive Social Security benefits.
Urge our Senators to quickly pass H.R. 3631 to allow the Medicare agency to prepare for 2010.
The NARFE Legislative Action Center features an Action Alert which allows you to send NARFE’s message to both your Senators. (The direct path to this Urgent Action Alert is http://capwiz.com/narfe/issues/alert/?alertid=14260196)
H.R. 3631, the Medicare Premium Fairness Act, is a bill that would protect all beneficiaries, including federal annuitants, from an increase in their 2010 Medicare Part B premium increase. The bill was already approved by the House of Representatives on September 24 in an overwhelming vote of 406-18 (Roll no. 737). Since September 24, I have written four times on this subject in the chapter Blog. Go to the search engine on right hand side of the Blog just below the list of Officers and type in 3631plus Go. You will see all four articles.
H.R. 3631 deserves our support because it brings equity among Medicare Part B beneficiaries that the current law's "hold harmless" provisions does not. With no Social Security cost-of-living adjustment in 2010, the hold harmless in current law will only ensure that most beneficiaries will not pay an increase in their Part B premium increased.
On preliminary examination, the fiscal year 2011 budget, submitted by President Obama to Congress, contains no major changes, or scored savings, in programs impacting the income or health care security of federal retirees. NARFE staff will continue to review the large compilation of budget documents. (Available on the Government Printing Office web site: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy11/index.html )
#3. Budget Cutting Commission and Fast Track Procedure:
Despite the short term increase in the debt limit, signed into law (P.L. 111-123) by President Obama on December 29, allowing the government to pay its bills until February, another increase in the debt limit will be needed. Separate legislation (H.R. 1557 and S. 2834) to create a commission which could force changes to entitlement and other program spending and tax policy through the use of a Congressional fast-track procedure could be added to the debt limit legislation. NARFE is concerned that such a commission could single out the earned federal civil service retirement and health benefits for reductions. To urge your two
#4. Café 101
Sign up with Cece,672-5827, if you haven’t already. Remember March 22 at noon we have a buffet date.
H.R. 3631 protects all Medicare Part B beneficiaries from a premium increase in 2010, including federal retirees who are not eligible to receive Social Security benefits.
Urge our Senators to quickly pass H.R. 3631 to allow the Medicare agency to prepare for 2010.
The
We as servants of the people called for prompt Senate passage of NARFE supported legislation, H.R. 3631, to protect all Medicare Part B beneficiaries from a premium increase in 2010, including federal retirees who are not eligible to receive Social Security benefits. NARFE members should help “close the deal” by urging their Senators to quickly pass H.R. 3631 to allow the Medicare agency to prepare for 2010.
An Action Alert which allows you to send NARFE’s message to both your Senators is:
H. R. 3631
This bill is about equity for all Medicare beneficiaries, because without it, federal, state and local government retirees who are not Social Security-eligible would have to pay the Part B rate hike in a no-COLA year, while Social Security beneficiaries would not.
Under current federal law, 72 percent of Medicare beneficiaries do not have to pay for the increase in Part B premiums in any year in which they receive no Social Security COLA. However, there are four groups of older Americans who are not protected by the ‘hold harmless’ provision, including over a million federal, state and local government retirees who are not eligible to receive Social Security benefits. Absent a change in law, they would not only have to pay the higher Part B premiums without a COLA, but also absorb the costs of other Medicare beneficiaries currently ‘held harmless.’
The Social Security Trustees have estimated that there will be no COLA increases for the next two years. Their estimate is based on the assumption that there will be no increase in the cost of living or inflation mostly because the cost of oil is less than 2008. This prediction will affect our Annuity as well.
***A posting on
JULY INFLATION DECLINES 0.2 PERCENT
For purposes of calculating the next COLA (cost-of-living adjustment) the index is currently 2.3 percent below the 2008 third quarter average base index of 215.5. August consumer prices indices will be released on
In spite of what the experts may say in
Our Health Care will surely increase for the year. Our Insurance premiums that we pay after taxes will increase again; plus the cost of Medicare Part B and Part D have increases in the works. Thankfully Part B premiums have a cap on them. Part B (coverage for doctor visits) can not increase more than the increase in the COLA which will be zero for the next two years. Therefore; we are somewhat protected on Part B. Part D (coverage for Drugs) has no cap. Again we as a group are lucky, if we followed the advice of NARFE by not signing up for Part D.
In the end what is the result? You and I lose. We will have much less money to work with next year and most likely the year after. We lose on the COLA; cost of energy, medical care, Property taxes, trash pick up and most things that were “out sourced”. We won on Medicare Part B and if we follow advice of NARFE on Part D. The losses seem to our weigh the small gains.
YOU PAINT A GLOOMY PICTURE AND iT'S TRUE WE WILL ALL HAVE TO ECONOMIZE, HOWEVER, WE MUST ALSO COUNT OUR BLESSINGS. DUE TO OUR AGE, WE PROBABLY HAVE A MORTGAGE-FREE HOME. WE HAVE THE BEST MEDICAL COVERAGE SO WE HAVEN'T GONE BANKRUPT AND WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT LOSING OUR JOBS. WE HAVE TO PRAY CONDITIONS DON'T GET WORSE. WE WILL ALL SURVIVE.
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