Walter Gottlieb, Author at NCPSSM

Is is Time for Permanent Daylight Savings Time?

Should Daylight Savings Time be year-round? We, as a country, seem to ask ourselves that question every time we set the clocks ahead an hour in March. Making Daylight Savings Time (DST) permanent would have enormous implications for all Americans.

By Walter Gottlieb|2023-03-10T16:20:52-04:00March 10th, 2023|Categories: Congress, Senate|

White House Budget Would Boost Medicare, Help Seniors in Myriad Ways

President Biden’s bold 2024 budget proposal puts him squarely on the side of working Americans in their ongoing struggle for retirement and health security. The new White House budget would keep the Medicare Part A trust fund solvent until 2050.

By Walter Gottlieb|2023-03-10T11:50:52-04:00March 9th, 2023|Categories: Budget, Congress, Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Prescription Drug Prices, President Biden|

People With Disabilities, Pre-Existing Conditions Are Vulnerable to Social Security & Medicare Cuts

All but the most upper-income seniors would be hurt by cuts to Social Security and Medicare --- the kind which Republicans have been proposing in the name of “entitlement reform.” But older Americans with disabilities or pre-existing conditions would be hit especially hard.

By Walter Gottlieb|2023-02-28T11:42:16-04:00February 27th, 2023|Categories: Disability, Medicare, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, Politics, President Biden, Republicans, Social Security|

Nikki Haley’s Call for Mental Competency Tests Proves that Ageism is Alive and Well

Upon kicking off her presidential campaign this week, Nikki Haley said politicians 75 years of age or older should be subject to mental competency tests. It was a cheap political shot at President Biden and her rival in the primaries, Donald Trump. But it was more than that. Haley’s statement is blatantly ageist. Of course, of all the -isms (racism, sexism, able-ism, classism, etc.), the targeting of older people remains one of the most socially acceptable – probably leading Haley to believe that her jab at senior politicians was safe. That doesn’t make it any less offensive.

By Walter Gottlieb|2023-02-17T13:36:01-04:00February 17th, 2023|Categories: ageism, Bernie Sanders, Election 2024, seniors|

Ageism is Alive and Well

Despite their enormous contributions to our country, seniors are continually devalued as members of society. When someone calls another person “old,” it’s understood as an insult, not a sign of respect. “In our society, older people too often are considered to be absent and invisible,” says our senior policy expert, Anne Montgomery.

By Walter Gottlieb|2023-02-22T11:29:18-04:00February 9th, 2023|Categories: ageism, seniors|

Democrats’ New Prescription Drug Plan More than a ‘Glass Half Full’

For American seniors, the Democrats’ new agreement on prescription drug pricing reform is definitely more than a glass half full. It is not everything that advocates had hoped for, but it is a historic step toward taming soaring drug prices.

By Walter Gottlieb|2021-11-03T16:44:08-04:00November 3rd, 2021|Categories: Congress, Democrats, Prescription Drug Prices, President Biden|

5.9% COLA is Good, But Seniors Need a Permanent Boost

The federal government announced today that Social Security beneficiaries will receive a 5.9% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2022. That's about $92

By Walter Gottlieb|2021-10-13T11:45:13-04:00October 13th, 2021|Categories: COLAs, Congress, Social Security|

Big Pharma Dreads Medicare Price Negotiation

Big Pharma is none too happy with legislation to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices, according to published accounts and members of the advocacy community.

By Walter Gottlieb|2021-09-16T14:50:39-04:00September 10th, 2021|Categories: Democrats, healthcare, Medicare Drug Coverage and Costs, Prescription Drug Prices, President Biden|

Happy 86th Anniversary to Social Security

One of our nation's most popular federal programs marks another year of success on August 14th. Social Security—the income security program for workers, retirees, people with disabilities, and their families - was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt 86 years ago. But it's been almost four decades since the program was last reformed. In 1983, Congress took action to shore up Social Security's finances under the acute threat of insolvency. Fast-forward to the present. We are confronted with a looming shortfall in the program's finances amid a growing demand to boost benefits. But bi-partisan action to strengthen Social Security has been elusive—despite the best efforts of some lawmakers to put forward solid proposals.

By Walter Gottlieb|2021-08-15T10:14:35-04:00August 14th, 2021|Categories: Uncategorized|