Oct 26 Column: Questionable Social Security and Medicare policies put seniors in a bind By Philip Moeller Social Security announced last week that its annual cost of living adjustment would be a paltry three-tenths of 1 percent in 2017. This small increase is not only unfair to Social Security recipients, but will also trigger an absolute mess… Continue reading
Oct 18 Watch 2:39 News Wrap: Russia and Syria halt Aleppo strikes, ahead of short-term pause for aid By PBS News Hour In our news wrap Tuesday, Russia and Syria halted air strikes on Aleppo, ahead of a short-term halt to all fighting in the city scheduled for Thursday. Also, a 72-hour halt to fighting in Yemen is also in the works… Continue watching
Oct 18 Average senior’s Social Security check to increase a measly $4 in 2017 By Philip Moeller Social Security’s annual cost of living adjustment, or COLA, will be only 0.3 percent in 2017. Continue reading
Oct 12 Are you prepared for Medicare open enrollment? By Philip Moeller Medicare’s annual open enrollment period begins Oct. 15 and runs through Dec. 7. During this period, Medicare beneficiaries are free to select new plans. Continue reading
Oct 05 Signing up for Medicare? Read this cautionary tale first By Philip Moeller Let this story be your cautionary guide for Medicare's more practical roadblocks. Continue reading
Sep 28 How do the Affordable Care Act and Medicare interact? By Philip Moeller By design, state health exchanges and Medicare are not supposed to work together. Continue reading
Sep 27 Where do the presidential candidates stand on Social Security? By Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press The Associated Press is examining issues at stake in the presidential election and how they affect people. This one looks at Social Security. Continue reading
Sep 22 I keep falling. Will Medicare cover a home health aide? By Philip Moeller Medicare usually only covers things that are deemed medically necessary by your doctor or another health care professional. But what's considered "medically necessary"?… Continue reading
Sep 14 Last year’s COLA headache is likely to return this fall By Philip Moeller The wheels started falling off this wagon last year, because there was no consumer price inflation and thus a zero COLA for 2016. Medicare expenses and premiums continued to rise, however. Continue reading
Sep 13 Income is up, poverty is down, but neither are back at pre-recession levels By Kristen Doerer With improving incomes, 3.5 million people climbed out of poverty in 2015, pushing down the official poverty rate to 13.5 percent. Continue reading