Issue Position: Seniors

Issue Position

Since the first day I entered office representing the people of Southwestern Pennsylvania both in the State Senate and now in Congress, Rep. Murphy made it clear that one of his top priorities would be to protect and preserve both Medicare and Social Security. That's why he opposes arbitrary cuts to benefits seniors spent a lifetime earning.

Social Security and Medicare Protection Act

The key to protecting Social Security and Medicare is to ensure Congress and the Administration cannot use your Trust Fund deposits to fund other programs or pet projects. Towards that end, he's authored the Social Security and Medicare Protection Act. The legislation stops Congress or the Administration from raiding the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds and diverting your money for other programs like the President's 2010 healthcare law.

An Accurate Cost-of-Living Adjustment For Seniors

Murphy has also supported legislation for a more equitable way to calculate the Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA). In past years, the Social Security Administration announced there will be no COLA due to "falling consumer prices." However, the cost of living for those who typically have high medical expenses, like seniors and disabled veterans, has been skyrocketing. Since the current model does not fully take into account the price of healthcare, including medical procedures and prescription drugs, annual COLA does not fully reflect the average cost of living increase for seniors. Congressman Murphy co-sponsored the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act, which would indicate the changes over time in expenditures typical for individuals aged 62 years and set a new rate relevant to seniors, instead of the population as a whole. Murphy has also supported legislation to block any congressional pay increase or congressional COLA while seniors forgo theirs.

Access to Affordable Life-Saving Medication

When Congress first drafted the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act in 2004, the federal prescription drug program, Congressman Murphy led Pennsylvania delegation efforts to include language to ensure that the PACE (Prescription Assistance Contract for Seniors) program was properly integrated into the new Medicare prescription drug plan, helping to save Pennsylvania's seniors $170 million.

Protecting and Strengthening Medicare

Medicare has not kept pace with advancements in the medical field and is now a convoluted patchwork of laws, reflecting decades of ad hoc changes that do not always meet the needs of patients. In the 112th session of Congress, Rep. Murphy authored the SMART Act, the Strengthening Medicare and Repaying Act. The SMART Act was included as an amendment to H.R. 1848, the Medicare IVIG Access Act, was signed into law by the President on January 10, 2013. Under the "Medicare Secondary Payer' statute, insurers, retailers, and third parties must repay Medicare if their negligence leads to medical bills for a senior citizen. However, the current system is complicated and riddled with delays, preventing these cases from closing and bringing in money owed to the Medicare Trust Fund. This bill cuts through the bureaucratic red tape and requires Medicare to provide the parties with accurate information about the total cost of medical bills when the parties announce a settlement is near. Without coming to a settlement, Medicare cannot recoup the money and beneficiaries are often left footing the bill. The SMART Act breaks down the bureaucratic hurdles that prevent Medicare and private insurers from closing out medical billing cases in a timely manner. Industry experts have suggested this bill could collect between $1 billion and $4 billion annually, while saving the Medicare agency countless hours of staff work pursuing claims of little or no value.

During the 110th Congress, Congressman Murphy introduced H.R. 1571, the Seniors Access to Mental Health Care Act, which is now federal law. His bill ensures seniors aren't charged higher co-pays for mental health services than they would be for other physical health services under Medicare.

Source