DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Popular Medicare Advantage plans have 'clear cases of overpayments and improper billing of US taxpayers,' advocates and analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The original Medicare program is offered directly through the federal government. "There hasn't been enough of an indictment of Medicare Advantage plans," Mary Johnson, a Social Security and Medicare policy analyst at the Senior Citizens League, told Insider. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the share of all Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans will grow to 61% by 2032. The politics of Medicare AdvantagePoliticians, primarily Republicans, have done their part to promote Medicare Advantage over the original Medicare plans since President George W. Bush overhauled the program in 2003. Johnson said Medicare Advantage was so popular among conservatives because it shifted financial responsibility from the government to patients.

HANOI, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Every Tuesday, 79-year-old Nguyen Thi Loc joins a group of grey-haired students to study English at a house in Hanoi, with the aim of socialising and keeping her brain sharp. The informal classes are free and are taught by Phung Thi Yen, who trained as an English teacher but currently works as an office worker. Loc has never studied a foreign language before, but with her newly acquired skills she chants in chorus with her classmates: "Never too old to learn English". English is Vietnam's most commonly taught foreign language after having become a mandatory subject at school in the 1990s. "Even though we are old, we still should try to study, because studying helps the brain," she said.

The number of working Americans aged 80 or over — such President Joe Biden — has risen from 1980. As seen in the above chart, 5.16% of Americans aged 80 and over had a job in 2022 as of October. Although the share of Americans age 80 and over with a job has tumbled some from it's high in 2018 per Insider's analysis, there are still plenty of older workers working past typical retirement age. And that's evidenced by poverty rates among older Americans standing higher than a decade ago as of 2021. However, not all older Americans want to keep working as they get older and will exit the labor force.

☆ Doctors explain why pending 'ominous' cuts to Medicare would limit healthcare for seniors in the new year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Reimbursements for doctors who see Medicare patients are set to be cut by up to 8.5% starting next year. Doctors warn cuts will prevent seniors from getting vital health services. Among them are Medicare cuts to doctors through the Physician Fee Schedule, which is used to determine which services doctors are reimbursed for, and how much they get. It affects the quality of care patients are able to get, and can even impact how many Medicare patients a healthcare provider can take on, Shalgain said. "And as that Medicare number goes down, you can't see as many Medicare patients," he said.

☆ Forget the culture wars: Democrats and Republicans are focusing their midterm-election closing arguments on Medicare and Social Security
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Democrats are challenging that by framing themselves as defenders of Medicare and Social Security. Since relief on sky-high inflation or the housing crisis isn't imminent, Democrats have turned to Republican plans to privatize and make cuts to Social Security and Medicare. In a speech at the Democratic National Committee last week, Biden used the phrase "Social Security and Medicare" 11 times while countering Republicans' rhetoric around reforming both programs. Republicans' proposed budget points to cuts, but they're denying that's the planRepublicans have said Democrats are misrepresenting their comments on Social Security and Medicare. Arrington has repeatedly introduced legislation that would prevent people from receiving both Social Security disability benefits and Social Security unemployment benefits at the same time — called "double dipping" by critics.

☆ The White House is touting a huge boost to Social Security checks. It's happening because inflation is sky high.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

That's despite Social Security cost of living adjustments being directly tied to inflation since 1972. The boon to Social Security is accurate, but it's one that would happen regardless of Biden's stewardship. The direct relationship between inflation and Social Security has existed since 1972, when President Richard Nixon signed automatic benefit adjustments. It's the largest rise in Social Security payments in about that same amount of time, and will increase monthly Social Security checks by about $145 per month on average, according to the AARP. And protecting Medicare and Social Security are top issues for them, according to an AARP survey analysis.

☆ U.S. FAA should bar airlines from reducing leg room -6 Democratic senators
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Mary F. CalvertWASHINGTON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Six Democratic U.S senators urged the Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday to bar airlines from further shrinking the size and leg room of airplane seats. Last month, a U.S. appeals court heard arguments from a flyer advocacy group urging it to order the FAA to set minimum seat dimensions on passenger airplanes. There are no current minimum seat dimensions. Current rules say airlines must be able to evacuate passengers within 90 seconds but do not set seat size requirements. In July 2018 the FAA said it would not regulate seat size.

☆ Raphael Warnock said Herschel Walker is 'not fit' to represent Georgia in the Senate: 'You actually have to know stuff to do this job'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Raphael Warnock during a Friday Democratic rally questioned Herschel Walker's fitness for office. "You actually have to know stuff to do this job," the senator said to applause from the audience. Warnock and Walker remain locked in one of the most competitive Senate races in the country. Warnock then zinged Walker for what he's repeatedly said is his opponent's lack of fitness to serve in the Senate. "You actually have to know stuff to do this job," the senator said to applause from the audience.

IllinoisIn Illinois, two candidates are looking to make history as the state's first Latina congresswoman: Democratic state Rep. Delia Ramirez in the state's 3rd Congressional District, and Republican newcomer Catalina Lauf in the 11th Congressional District. OregonIn Oregon, two candidates are looking to become the state’s first Latina congresswoman: Democratic state Rep. Andrea Salinas and Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the former mayor of Happy Valley. Flores is on the ballot again in November to defend her newly won seat representing Texas’ 34th Congressional District. Among them are Jenny Garcia Sharon in the 37th Congressional District and Carmen Maria Montiel in the 18th District. Justin Sullivan / Getty Images fileSen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat, made history as the first Latina elected to the U.S. Senate and the first woman elected to the Senate from Nevada.

☆ Crist to DeSantis: Will you run for president? Florida governor refuses to say in caustic debate
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Marc Caputo | Marc Caputo Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

“You’re running for governor,” Crist said, looking at DeSantis as the governor looked forward. “It’s not a tough question,” Crist said, filling the dead air. When Crist blamed DeSantis for rising utility bills and the skyrocketing cost of hurricane insurance, DeSantis faulted Crist for supporting Biden’s policies amid rising inflation. Time and again Monday night, Crist returned to the issue of DeSantis’ looming decision about whether he would run for president in 2024. It wasn’t the only question DeSantis wouldn’t answer.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will get the updated Covid-19 shot Tuesday after he delivers remarks about the pandemic and the administration’s efforts to get people in the U.S. boosted, a White House official said. It has been more than three months since Biden contracted the coronavirus, which is how long health experts recommend waiting before getting another shot. The White House is focused on reaching those at the highest risk of infection, including senior citizens. Top Biden administration officials have warned in recent weeks about a possible winter surge, particularly as more people head indoors. The White House Covid -19 coordinator, Dr. Ashish Jha, has stressed that timing is also a key factor, pushing people to ideally get their boosters before Halloween to have the best protection possible by the holidays.

☆ White House Covid czar calls on seniors to get omicron booster now
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Dr. Ashish Jha, head of the White House Covid taskforce, said everyone older than 50 and senior citizens in particular need to get an omicron booster as soon as possible. The elderly have faced the high risk of falling seriously ill with Covid since the beginning of the pandemic. Younger people should also get a booster this fall even though they're at lower risk of getting seriously ill from the virus, Jha said. The FDA and CDC rapidly authorized the omicron shots for children as young as 5 years old last week. But the CDC, in a study published last April, said the risk of myocarditis is higher after a Covid infection.

The trip includes stops in California on Friday and Oregon on Saturday as Biden positions his party as a champion of consumers and lower healthcare costs at a time that inflation ranks among voters' top concerns. Most forecasts show Democrats with a slight advantage in the Senate and Republicans with a larger advantage in the House. Biden alleged that Republicans will repeal the prescription drug price caps and take away Medicare's ability to negotiate drug prices if they take control. Biden was introduced by Representative Katie Porter, who has grilled bank and drug company executives on their profits in widely viewed Congressional hearings. Healthcare costs were partly to blame in the most recent month, along with food and rent.

They heat their home mainly with fuel oil, which costs them $4.57 a gallon, up from around $3.10 last year. Duke Energy customers in Indiana were recently hit with a 7% hike after a temporary 16% increase just this summer. Fuel oil customers often must pay for deliveries up front, and many suppliers have been less willing to offer payment plans because of market volatility, experts said. “I don’t have savings, period.”Brickey and Parks applied for LIHEAP assistance through District Three, a government cooperative geared toward senior citizens in southwest Virginia. They had three months of electricity paid for this past summer, along with $800 worth of fuel oil assistance last winter.

☆ Social Security recipients get 8.7% cost-of-living increase, the highest in more than 40 years
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Tami Luhby | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

New York CNN Business —Social Security recipients will receive an annual cost-of-living adjustment of 8.7% next year, the largest increase since 1981, the Social Security Administration announced Thursday. The spike will boost retirees’ monthly payments by $146 to an estimated average of $1,827 for 2023. The hefty increase, which follows a 5.9% adjustment for this year, is aimed at helping Social Security’s roughly 70 million recipients contend with the high inflation that’s been plaguing the US since last year. It’s too early to say,” said Mary Johnson, Social Security and Medicare policy analyst at The Senior Citizens League, an advocacy group. “It depends on what inflation is going to do from October onwards.”This story is breaking and will be updated.

☆ U.S. retirees see biggest Social Security hike in more than 40 years
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Retirees and other beneficiaries will get an 8.7% cost-of-living (COLA) adjustment starting in January, the U.S. Social Security Administration, which administers the benefit program, said in a statement. The average recipient will see $140 more per month in their 2023 benefit checks, it added, benefiting about 70 million people receiving Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) aid. The programs benefit older Americans who have retired from their jobs as well as the disabled and certain widows, widowers and children. The consumer price data, used to set the Social Security adjustments, showed rising rent, food and health care costs pressuring consumers. Mary Johnson, an analyst at the seniors advocacy group Senior Citizens League, said adequate cost-of-living increases were necessary "as older Americans live longer lives."

The annual adjustment is forecast to be the largest one-time increase since 1981, and the largest experienced by beneficiaries alive today. The nonprofit Senior Citizens League predicts an adjustment coming in at 8.7%, implying that Social Security recipients could see an increase of about $144 starting Jan. 1, 2023. The Federal Reserve has acknowledged the pain inflation inflicts upon on individuals who receive Social Security benefits. Thanks to an unusual quirk, Social Security beneficiaries can expect to realize the full COLA increase. "The lifeboat is leaking and taking on water, leaving older Americans at risk of financial drowning," Johnson wrote.

☆ Senior citizens are using VR to socialize and explore
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSenior citizens are using VR to socialize and exploreTom Rogers, Engine Gaming & Media executive chairman, joins 'TechCheck' to discuss Meta's new high-end VR headset, and how VR technology can improve the quality of life for seniors.

Walmart Healthcare Research Institute, the largest U.S. retailer's new healthcare research service, will find participants for clinical trials, and Walmart also host MyHealthJourney, a patient portal that helps people find upcoming research trials and track their care. Walmart's expansion into clinical trial recruitment could bring it new streams of revenue from drug companies. Walmart is currently working with Laina Enterprises, a virtual clinical trial management platform, the retailer said in a press release. Rival Walgreens said in June it had launched clinical trial services to increase diversity in test subjects. Walmart opened Walmart Health locations in Dallas, Georgia in 2019 and now has 24 locations including in Arkansas, Florida and Illinois.

☆ Social Security's cost-of-living increase for 2023 would be largest in 40 years. Here's what that means for benefits
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Retirees who are confronting higher prices due to record high inflation may get some welcome news this week when the Social Security Administration announces the cost-of-living adjustment for 2023. The Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan senior group, estimated last month that the COLA could be 8.7% next year. "These are just estimates," which means the official change for 2023 could come in higher or lower, said Mary Johnson, Social Security and Medicare policy analyst at The Senior Citizens League. The Senior Citizens Leagues' estimate pointed to a higher 10.5% bump to benefits next year based on June data. The annual COLA applies to both Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits.

☆ As Biden vows to 'protect' Social Security, here's what we know about the future of benefits
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"I want to save Social Security, Medicare and Veterans benefits." A spokeswoman for Scott pointed to a recent interview where he said his plan would help make sure people get their Social Security benefits. Specific plans from both parties are needed to secure the future of both Social Security and Medicare, she said. Due to high inflation, estimates show the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment is poised to be the highest in decades, according to The Senior Citizens League. One more month of consumer price index data will come in before the official bump for next year is announced by the Social Security Administration.

☆ Fed Chair Powell warned of ‘pain’ to come. Seniors on fixed incomes are already feeling it
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Martha C. White | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“Social Security comes up short by at least $1,000 [a month] in many locations. John Harriger, a resident of Chilhowie, Virginia, suffered a disabling back injury in 1994 and relies solely on Social Security for income. “I get about $1,800 a month [from Social Security] but… when gas and groceries started going up, I couldn’t make it any more. Sites, who relies wholly on Social Security for her income, said she worries what will happen when the mortgage on her home near Asheville, North Carolina, resets. This has a pass-through effect on the financial security of older Americans.

Social Security recipients struggling with higher inflation are likely to get a major boost in their monthly benefits starting next year. The Social Security Administration's annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) formula is based on inflation readings for July, August and September. "A COLA of 8.7% is extremely rare and would be the highest ever received by most Social Security beneficiaries alive today," Johnson said in a statement. "Across the board, retired and disabled Social Security recipients spend a bigger portion of their incomes on healthcare costs, housing, and food and less on gasoline," she said. The ultimate net benefit to Social Security recipients will also be contingent on how much Medicare Part B premiums increase.

☆ Remote work is killing Florida as a retirement paradise
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-11 | by ( Gadel Valle | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Housing prices, combined with the rise of remote work, threaten to end the middle-class dream of spending your final days in Florida. "It does put the retirement industry at risk because it's going to become more and more difficult" to retire in Florida, he told me. The political influence of Florida retirees is so significant that national publications send reporters to The Villages before elections to check its political pulse. The dream of a Florida retirement is dying as housing prices make it too expensive for most. And for people who are retiring now, the Florida retirement dream is starting to look a lot less sunny.

☆ Lower US job gain in August could help the Fed's inflation fight
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-02 | by ( Christopher S. Rugaber | Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers added a healthy number of jobs last month, yet slowed their hiring enough to potentially help the Federal Reserve in its fight to reduce raging inflation. Inflation did fall to an 8.5% annual rate in July from 9.1% in June, mostly as gas prices steadily dropped. Wage growth weakened a bit last month, too, which could also serve the Fed’s inflation fight. Powell warned that the Fed’s inflation fight would likely cause pain for Americans in the form of a weaker economy and job losses. Friday’s jobs figures and a report earlier this week that showed the number of job openings rose in July suggest that the Fed’s rate hikes so far haven’t restored much balance.

Search resuls for: "Senior Citizens"

25 mentions found