Cathy Cress

Expert in Aging Life and Geriatric Care Management

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Build Back Better Bill Dead? What is Lost?

January 19, 2022

Sen Manchin Probably Killed the BBB Bill-

As the Voting Rights Bill is probably going to be killed by Senator Sinema & Manchin, Machin is also responsible for the probable death of the Build Back Better Bill.

IN December Senator Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia and the crucial holdout vote on Build Back Better Bill announced, “I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation… I’ve tried everything humanly possible; I can’t get there.” Whether this is a death knell for the president’s legislative agenda or just a serious setback is still to be litigated.

President Biden had been in negotiations with Manchin, who has withheld his support for the bill, making him a key vote in the evenly divided chamber. Biden said Manchin has reiterated his support for the overall cost of the bill. He said negotiations are continuing but more time is needed. 

Though Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has vowed to bring the Build Back Better bill up for this month, it is all but doomed. Even so, Democrats hope to revive it in some form that could win support from every member of their Senate caucus.

What Do Seniors Lose

A senior suffering from deafness without hearing aide

 

Hearing Aids for Seniors Gone

Medicare currently does not cover hearing, dental, or vision as it once did but the Build Back Better plan addresses costs for hearing. Changes would not begin until 2023, but it would allow for coverage of hearing aids — an expense that can range drastically, from       $1,000 to a few thousand dollars.

Negotiating Drug Prices Gone

Prescription Drug Prices Not Negotiated By US

The Build Back Better Bill would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices for medications available at a pharmacy or doctor’s office. The current process for determining drug prices varies for the type of medication and how long they have been on the market. This bill offers a few changes, such as imposing a penalty fee for drug companies that raise their prices faster than inflation and laying out the framework for price negotiations.

Lost -Changes in Home- and Community-Based Care.

The spending bill earmarked $150 billion for in-home and community services through Medicaid over the next decade.  The BBB bill contains additional funding for a Medicaid program that provides home- and community-based care services for eligible elderly Americans and people with disabilities. According to Kaiser Family Foundation estimates, there are more than 800,000 people on Medicaid waiting lists for these services across the country. 

Americans don’t always consider home and community-based care or long-term care when making their retirement plans, but they should. Already, a 65-year-old couple retiring could expect to pay $300,000 in retirement for healthcare alone, but that doesn’t include the cost of a homecare aide or nursing home which could amount to thousands of more dollars every month.

If Aging is Your Field Call Your Representative Now

To find your local representative and tell them to support Biden’s bill if you care about aging or caregivers or women or shoring up the frayed- fraught care infrastructure. I have done a series of blogs on the bill. Check them out now 

 

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Social Security Gives Benefits Boost 2022 But Free Dental, Vision, Hearing Frozen

October 18, 2021

Seniors will get More Social Security 2022 -Will They Get Heath Security from Care Infrastructure while President Biden’s mission is to create senior health equity . Medicare Covering dental, vision, and hearing is now frozen and is in real danger.

 

Social Security Benefits Increase in 2022    

Approximately 70 million Americans will see a 5.9% increase in their Social

Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments in 2022. Federal benefit rates increase when the cost of living rises, as measured by the Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index (CPI-W). The CPI-W rises when inflation increases, leading to a higher cost of living.

Almost Half of Seniors Live on Social SecurityAlone- Without a Saftey Net

 

Almost 50% of Seniors have just Social Security as a Safety net. They live on social

security alone with no fallback.

Only a small percentage of older Americans, 6.8 percent, receive combined income from Social Security, PLUS a defined benefit pension, and defined contribution plan. A plurality of older Americans only receives income from Social Security in retirement.

Biden’s Care Infrastruce Bill Would Help Seniors in Jeopardy Who ONLY  have Social Security Benefits

President Biden’s Care Infrastructure Bill would help seniors who only have Social Security by having Medicare cover  Dental, Vision, Hearing Free is in jeopardy.

This bill would give a giant boost to seniors with only social security and help mend their financial safety net by making, dental, vision, and hearing free under Medicare.

However, President Biden’s bill is frozen. Senators Sinema and Manchin are holding up the bill by demanding it come down from 3.5 billion to maybe 2 billion or less, which means these new Medicare benefits are on the chopping block.

So, Biden also warned liberal Democrats that a proposed $3.5 trillion price tag would probably need to drop in order to accommodate centrist holdouts, and he tossed out a range of figures around $2 trillion as a possible alternative. 

 

Income Boost to Vulnerable Seniors would be Vast if Care infrastructure Bill Passed

Hearing aid prices are unaffordably high for the elder with only social security as a money blanket. They can range from just shy of $1,000 on up to more than $6,000 for each device, depending on the level of technology. 

The average Medicare beneficiary spends an average of $922 on out-of-pocket dental costs, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.As many as 37 million people on Medicare don’t have dental coverage at all. Cleanings, fillings, crowns, dentures and, bridges- needed for aging teeth-aren’t covered by the program. Vision care averages about $475 a year for seniors but no coverage by Medicare. If you are living on $1500-$2000 a month these health care costs do not turn out to be affordable when food and rent come first.

 

 

 20.2 million Medicare beneficiaries  reported difficult times said there was a time in last year When they could not Afford Glasses, Hearing Aides or Dental Care

 

The Kaiser Family Foundation reported they could not get vision care, and among the 25.9 million beneficiaries who reported difficulty hearing, 7% (1.8 million beneficiaries) said there was a time in the last year they could not get hearing care.

If You Are a Woman or Work In Aging Call Your Congressman

Care Infrastructure may be dead if folks in health care and older constituents do not contact their congressman and tell them to support this bill. They control the votes for the bill and you have to let them know you will only vote for them if they do. Common Cause has this easy way to find and contact your congressman  If you believe in Medicare and senior’s right  to not have their teeth rot, not hear their grandkids or be unable to read a book- please do it now

Sign up for my new free Webinar How to Sign Up Concierge Clients When Adult Child Calls in Pain

 

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