Medicare

• Americans Struggle to Access COVID Vaccines

  September 12, 2025: HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr. has said that Americans who want COVID shots will be able to get them. However, some older Americans have reported going to local pharmacies to receive a COVID vaccine only to discover that Medicare currently won’...Read more >

• HHS Secretary Grilled About Medicaid, CDC Firings, and Vaccines During Contentious Hearing

  September 05, 2025: During a tense hearing on Thursday, members of the Senate Finance Committee pressed HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about his position on a number of issues, including Medicare drug price negotiation, vaccine skepticism, recent firings at the Cen...Read more >

• KFF Health News: Breaking Down Why Medicare Part D Premiums Are Likely To Go Up

  August 15, 2025: Medicare enrollees who buy the optional Part D drug benefit may see substantial premium price hikes — potentially up to $50 a month — when they shop for next year’s coverage. Such drug plans are used by millions of people who enroll in what ...Read more >

• CBO Warns: New House Budget Proposal Could Slash Medicare by $490 Billion

  May 23, 2025: A new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has sounded the alarm: the budget recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives could result in nearly $500 billion in automatic Medicare cuts over the next ten years. The ...Read more >

• KFF Health News: Trump’s DOJ Accuses Medicare Advantage Insurers of Paying ‘Kickbacks’ for Primo Customers

  May 19, 2025: When people call large insurance brokerages seeking free assistance in choosing Medicare Advantage plans, they’re often offered assurances such as this one from eHealth: “Your benefit advisors will find plans that match your needs — no matter t...Read more >

• Retirees Are In the Fight

  February 11, 2025: Texas retirees are fighting in the courts, in Washington, in Austin, and on the streets of Texas cities! Austin TARA will rally February 12. Dallas rallies Feb 15 along with major labor leaders. Alliance Sues Treasury Department Over Illegal ...Read more >

• KFF Health News: Biden Administration Bars Medical Debt From Credit Scores

  January 08, 2025: The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday issued new regulations barring medical debts from American credit reports, enacting a major new consumer protection just days before President Joe Biden is set to leave office. The rules ...Read more >

• Celebrate What We Have, and Struggle for More

  August 08, 2024: Texas retirees celebrated the anniversaries of Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security, July 30 and August 14 respectively. The Austin Chapter made arrangements to bring a table to different organizations and events. Most chapters combined the two anni...Read more >

• Win for Texas Seniors

  July 23, 2024: Dallas TARA Chapter is holding a fund raising luncheon at 12:15PM on August 7th at the Charco Broil, 413 W Jefferson Blvd. We'll be honoring Judy Bryant, our organizer who just got out of hospital, and Social Security's birthday. Congressman Marc Vea...Read more >

• KFF Health News: Lack of Affordability Tops Older Americans’ List of Health Care Worries

  July 11, 2024: What weighs most heavily on older adults’ minds when it comes to health care? The cost of services and therapies, and their ability to pay. “It’s on our minds a whole lot because of our age and because everything keeps getting more expens...Read more >