Medicare

• Retiree Organization Applauds House, Senate Passage of Bipartisan Postal Reform Bill

  March 08, 2022: Legislation will shore up USPS finances, save $50 billion over ten years Statement by Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, regarding passage by the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate of H.R. 3076, the 2021 ...Read more >

• Even Sen. McConnell Reprimands Sen. Rick Scott over Drastic Social Security, Medicare Proposals

  March 07, 2022: In a rare public admonishment of one of his top lieutenants, Sen. GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) rebuked Sen. Rick Scott's (FL) plan that “sunsets” Social Security and Medicare within five years. Sunsetting is a legal provision under which a pro...Read more >

• President Biden Addresses Retirees’ Needs at State of the Union: Lower Prescription Drug Prices, Voting Rights, Safer Nursing Homes

  March 02, 2022: The following statement was issued by Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, following President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday: “President Biden had seniors’ interests at the top of his pri...Read more >

• Medicare to Pay for Home Covid Tests

  February 04, 2022: On Thursday the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced plans to make over-the-counter (OTC) COVID-19 tests available to people with Medicare at no cost by “early spring.” CMS's initial OTC testing policy applied to privat...Read more >

• Retirees Applaud HHS Secretary Becerra’s Directive that CMS Reconsider 14% 2022 Medicare Premium Hike

  January 10, 2022: Statement by Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, regarding reports that Xavier Becerra, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has ordered the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (C...Read more >

• Senate Republicans and Chamber of Commerce Double Down on Opposition to the Build Back Better Act

  December 21, 2021: Last week, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (NY) said that a Senate vote on the Build Back Better Act will not happen this year. The House-passed version of Build Back Better would provide guaranteed hearing care for all Medicare beneficiari...Read more >

• Medicare Beneficiaries’ Telehealth Visits Increased 63-Fold in 2020

  December 13, 2021: When the COVID-19 pandemic prevented many Medicare recipients from going to their in-person routine medical appointments, the Medicare program responded in 2020 by offering temporary waivers to increase telehealth visits. Those waivers expanded teleh...Read more >

• Medicare Premiums to Take a Big Bite out of Social Security’s 5.9% COLA in 2022

  November 22, 2021: The standard monthly Medicare Part B premium in 2022 will rise to $170.10 from $148.50 in 2021 – a 14.55% jump and more than double what had been expected. A Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) official told CNN that $10 of the $21....Read more >

• House Passes Historic Build Back Act that Lowers Drug Prices, Funds Home Care and Hearing Aids

  November 22, 2021: The House voted 220-213 to pass the Build Back Better Act, H.R. 5376, Friday morning, sending President Biden’s sweeping plan to invest in middle class families and expand long-awaited social programs to the U.S. Senate. The bill contains numerous ...Read more >

• Build Back Better Act Clears Procedural Vote in House, Awaits Next Steps

  November 15, 2021: Following the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill on Friday, November 5, Democrats in Congress passed a key procedural vote to set up eventual passage of the Build Back Better Act, H.R. 5376, as they worked toward securing commitments from ...Read more >