Ray’s Round Up: This and That – A Quick Review of Recent news

Over the past few weeks, our round ups have focused on the upcoming elections, but that doesn not mean nothing else of importance was going on that impacts 50+ Pennsylvanians.  Here is a quick summary of a few items and issues we’ll talk about in depth over the coming weeks.

Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment

The Social Security Administration announced that Social Security recipients will receive a 0.3 percent increase in their checks beginning in January 2017.  Other changes include an increase in the amount a worker under full retirement age who is collecting Social Security benefits can earn before their benefits are reduced (increasing from $15,720 to $16,920) and an increase in the maximum income subject to the 6.2 percent Social Security tax (increasing from $118,500 to $127,000).

A 0.3 percent increase in Social Security benefits means the average Social Security recipient will get approximately $5 more each month.  AARP feels this does not reflect the true increase in the expenses of most Social Security recipients, particularly individuals who rely on social security for the majority of their retirement income.  A full debate about the future of Social Security must address the concern that the current formula for cost of living adjustments does not reflect the true cost of living for older Americans

Pennsylvania General Assembly Completes 2015-16 Session

It is all over except for the shouting – the Pennsylvania House and Senate adjourned this week after completing their work for the 2015-16 session.  Both chambers will convene briefly in mid-November to choose leaders for next year and take care of any formalities before the session officially comes to an end on November 30, but no votes will be taken on legislative items during that time.

As always, the end of the session produced some surprises and some disappointments.  On the plus side, the General Assembly passed legislation, which has already been signed into law by the Governor, that allows Pennsylvania to join an Interstate Medical Licensure Compact.  This new law allows physicians from other states to treat Pennsylvanians without needing to acquire a Pennsylvania medical license and allows Pennsylvania physicians to treat patients in other states without needing to be licensed in that state.  The compact  is anticipated to help advance telemedicine in Pennsylvania, particularly in rural areas where access to physician specialists is often difficult.

Disappointing news from the Capitol includes two pieces of legislation that were not acted upon.  Legislation to allow nurse practitioners to practice to their full authority was never debated in the House after it was approved by the Senate.  Legislation to increase the income limits for PACENET remained stuck in the Senate Appropriations Committee after unanimously passing the House also.   A new session of the General Assembly will provide another opportunity to pass these important bills.

Nursing Home Reports Show Need for Improvements

Two recent reports have pointed out the need for making significant changes in how Pennsylvania should work to ensure residents of nursing homes are safe and secure.  The Auditor General issued a report in July that raised concerns about the oversight of the Department of Health regarding nursing homes.

The Department of Health then issued a task force report that made specific recommendations about improving oversight of nursing facilities

Finally, Penn Live, the Harrisburg Patriot News online site, has done a series of reports on nursing homes that have pointed out the need for changes in how Pennsylvania regulates nursing homes.  You can find the sixth part of their series that offers some further recommendations here.

All these issues deserve a more in-depth report as we move forward – look for more information on them in the coming weeks.

 

“Ray’s Round Up” features updates on current state and federal issues by Ray Landis, AARP PA’s Advocacy Manager.