By: The My Medicare Matters Team Choosing a Medicare plan is an important, but difficult decision. This choice could determine your health for years to come and save (or cost) you hundreds of dollars in out-of-pocket costs. However, during the Medicare Open Enrollment Period (OEP)/Annual Election Period (AEP) October 15 through December 7, you can
The post How to Choose a Medicare Plan During the Open Enrollment Period appeared first on My Medicare Matters.
By: Ann Kayrish, NCOA’s Senior Program Manager for Medicare This open enrollment people with Medicare will have more plans to sift through than in past years. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will now allow Medicare Advantage (MA/Part C) plans to offer an increased number and variety of plans in a service area. Medicare
The post 10 Must-Ask Questions When Comparing Medicare Advantage Plans appeared first on My Medicare Matters.
By: Brandy Bauer, Associate Director of NCOA’s Center for Benefits Access. Reposted from NCOA.org. Did you or someone you work with fall into the Medicare Part D “donut hole” this year? The donut hole, or Part D coverage gap, occurs when a person reaches a certain spending limit for their medications ($3,820 in 2018), and must pay more of
The post Avoiding the Part D Donut Hole appeared first on My Medicare Matters.
By: The My Medicare Matters Team Medicare changes every year, some of the changes like the expansion of the diabetes prevention program are narrow and impact a subset of Medicare beneficiaries, while other changes like the addition of the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period impact a larger group of Medicare beneficiaries. Regardless of how big
The post What’s New for Medicare in 2019 appeared first on My Medicare Matters.
By: The My Medicare Matters Team About 1.3 billion people in the world live with some form of vision impairment. The reasons vary but the fact is, your risk of developing vision problems drastically increases as you age. Over 91% of people age 55+ use some form of vision correction, so having access to quality vision care
The post 6 Ways to Get Vision Coverage When You Retire appeared first on My Medicare Matters.
By: The My Medicare Matters Team A new opportunity to switch Medicare Advantage/Part C plans is happening right now. The annual Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (MA OEP) which runs from January 1 to March 31 offers anyone enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan an opportunity to either: Switch from one Part C plan to another, or Switch from a Part C
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By: The My Medicare Matters Team Women are often the first line of defense when protecting their family’s health, but in doing so tend to put their concerns on the back burner. These quick tips can help keep you happy and healthy as you juggle your everyday responsibilities. 1. Get breast cancer screenings every 1
The post 5 Healthy Aging Tips Every Woman Should Know appeared first on My Medicare Matters.
The My Medicare Matters Team Enrolling in a Medicare plan is a big decision. While you’re able to switch plans each year if you’re unhappy (in some situations more frequently) you still want to choose the best plan for your needs the first time. This means taking your out-of-pocket costs into consideration along with other
The post A Guide to Medicare Part C Costs appeared first on My Medicare Matters.
By: The My Medicare Matters Team Coverage of preventive services is one of the most important parts of Medicare’s role in keeping people healthy. Whether reinforcing immunizations you received as a child, or preparing you for next flu season, vaccines are a key part of avoiding diseases that can prevent you from aging well. Medicare
The post Healthy aging all year: Medicare covers 4 important vaccines for seniors appeared first on My Medicare Matters.
By: The My Medicare Matters Team It’s time a year again! Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period (OEP) is almost here, starting October 15th and ending December 7th. If you’re already enrolled in a Medicare plan this is the time of year where you can re-evaluate your coverage to make sure you are still enrolled in the best
The post Check Your Mail: Changes to the 2018 Medicare Open Enrollment Period Mailings appeared first on My Medicare Matters.
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Congressman Fortney H. "Pete" Stark passed away on January 24, 2020. To read Congressman Stark’s official obituary or to share your memories of Pete and read memories shared by others, please visit: www.petestarkmemorial.com.
We reflect on Congressman Stark’s passing with deep sadness – and also with great admiration for what he accomplished during his 40 years in Congress. Thanks to his tireless (and often bipartisan) efforts, our nation made significant strides towards a better healthcare system, especially for vulnerable groups – including children, women, seniors, and the very ill. Congressman Stark consistently championed the pillars of our nation’s social insurance system, Medicare and Social Security.
“I first met Congressman Stark when I was a young assistant economics professor. His staff asked me to testify in support of raising the minimum wage,” recalls Bill Rodgers, Chair of the Academy’s Board and Professor of Public Policy at Rutgers University. “As I reflect on that experience, one word describes the Congressman: ‘warrior’. Congressman Stark was one-of-a-kind. On that day, his passion for social justice and tireless fight for vulnerable Americans became part of the scaffolding that underpins my personal mission, which is to empower people and their communities with economic thought and analysis.”
Former Congressman and Academy Member Bill Gradison said:
“It may surprise some today that there was a time when Members of Congress like Pete and me (though of different political parties and representing very different constituencies) were able to work closely together to improve Federal healthcare programs. My association with Pete was one of the highlights of my Congressional career.”
The Academy is honored to help support Congressman Stark’s legacy with the new Congressman Pete Stark Health Policy Internship program, which will begin this summer of 2020.
Pete Stark was an inspiration to countless people across the country and to many Academy Members, including those serving on the inaugural Stark Internship Selection Committee:
Please join us in keeping Deborah Roderick Stark and the Stark family in your thoughts, as they mourn the loss of a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. Thank you.
In last evening’s State of the Union speech, President Trump highlighted paid family leave as one of his Administration’s priorities.
In June 2019, the National Academy of Social Insurance issued an in-depth report, Designing Universal Family Care, in partnership with Caring Across Generations. The report was developed over a year of deliberations by a Study Panel of 29 experts in care policy from a variety of perspectives. Academy members Marc Cohen, Co-Director of the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston, and Heidi Hartmann, former President and CEO of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, served as Study Panel Co-Chairs.
The report examines state-based social insurance policy options to promote paid family and medical leave (PFML) in the context of a range of critical and interrelated family care issues, including early child care and education, and long-term services and supports. Read the report to learn more about PFML policy options, including tradeoffs associated with specific policy choices within the context of assuring universal access, affordability, and financial stability through well-defined financing mechanisms.
What to know about PFML:
The National Academy of Social Insurance, in collaboration with Caring Across Generations, will be conducting a series of forums throughout the nation in 2020. The report’s findings will be discussed with a broad array of stakeholders, including state policymakers, grassroots community organizations, and caregivers.
If you’re interested in PFML, please join us on the road in 2020!
For more information, contact Bill Arnone, CEO, National Academy of Social Insurance, at warnone@nasi.org.
The month of February typically connotes a “V”- phrase: Valentine’s Day. For me, another word comes to mind: values.
What are the underlying values that make social insurance resonate with most Americans? Is there a normative framework through which social insurance might be viewed?
Media coverage seldom focuses on the core principles that drive discussions of programs and proposals. Yet, such principles are critical to truly understanding the rationale for, and philosophy of, programs like Social Security, Medicare, Workers’ Compensation, and Unemployment Insurance. They are also fundamental to policy debates about these programs’ futures.
Two of our Academy’s Founding Board Members, Nancy Altman and Eric Kingson, have made values central to their Social Security advocacy. Both view the essential human values that underpin Social Security as: “the responsibility to care for others; the value of hard work and fair rewards; dignity; the common good; and a fundamental understanding that we are all connected.” In other words, our sustained societal investment in Social Security is one of the most valuable and effective we make.
In her book, The Truth About Social Security (2018), Nancy wrote: “The truth is that Social Security, expanded as the founders intended, is fully affordable. The issue is one of values. Moreover, the values at stake are those that unite us. It is these underlying values embedded in Social Security’s very structure that make it so popular...One value is reward for hard work…(other values are) fairness…family… individual responsibility…shared risk…prudence.” She added: “The quintessential American values Social Security embodies and the vital protection it provides are what make Social Security so popular” (pp. 313-14).
Ted Marmor, another Founding Board Member, observed: “The partial measures in the Affordable Care Act appealed to the values underlying social insurance, but almost no connection was made between these measures and a principled vision of social insurance” (“Social Insurance and American Health Care: Principles and Paradoxes,” Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, December 2018).
History of Social Insurance
Long before Eric, Nancy, and Ted embarked on careers championing these values and vision, three of the leading social insurance scholars of the 20th century articulated their perspectives.
One was Barbara Nachtrieb Armstrong who, in her book Insuring the Essentials (1931), identified the core social insurance value as independence.
The second was Isaac Max Rubinow. In his book, The Quest for Security (1934), he identified the core value of social insurance as security.
In The Role of Social Insurance in the United States (1960), J. Douglas Brown emphasized the core values of self-reliance and dignity.
And of course, our Academy’s Founding Chair, Robert M. Ball, highlighted security and freedom as core values. In a 1961 speech to a National Conference on the Churches & Social Welfare, Bob Ball stated:
“Social insurance is based on the concept that security for the individual should, to the extent possible, grow out of his own work; under social insurance the worker earns his future security as he earns his living…Social insurance as a way of providing economic security is an important social invention, largely eliminating the old fear that meeting need will injure incentives to work and save.
The principle of nondiscretionary payments made as a matter of enforceable legal right and based on the demonstration of productive work is the very essence of social insurance. It is this principle of ‘earned rights’ which guarantees the freedom of the individual to manage his own income and prevents the conditioning of payment on any concept of acceptable behavior. In other approaches to the provision of economic security people have often had to choose security at the price of freedom, gaining their bread by accepting restrictions imposed on them by others. The method of social insurance provides the freedom that comes from an assured income that is accepted as an earned right.”
Will values emerge as a focus of the 2020 election?
Increasingly, political analysts are pointing to a 2020 campaign in which values may play a central role. American politics has typically been characterized by a clash between two fundamental values: individualism vs. egalitarianism.
In the recent past, the political emphasis has been on family values. One implicit principle of social insurance is that we are all part of a community – the human family – and need mutual support when facing adverse life events. Indeed, toward the end of his life, Bob Ball often referred to social insurance as “family protection.”
In the New York Times, David Brooks recently wrote: “If you base your political and social systems on the idea that the autonomous self-interested individual is the basic unit of society, then you will wind up with an individualistic culture that widens the maneuvering room between people but shreds the relationships and community between people.” He cited cooperation and “cooperative weaver” values as critical (“The Future of American Politics,” January 30, 2020). In a subsequent column, he wrote: “This is the year to run a values campaign, one that champions policies to make Americans more socially mobile, caring and interdependent” (February 7, 2020).
In some countries, a common value in political campaigns and related movements is solidarity. The Catholic Church, for example, recently held a forum on “New Forms of Solidarity Toward Fraternal Inclusion, Integration, and Innovation,” featuring a message from Pope Francis that focused on the common good. The notion that we are all our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers with mutual responsibilities and collective obligations is seldom mentioned in the United States outside of religious circles.
Returning to Valentine’s Day, let’s not overlook its quintessential value – love. Love for each other as human beings – deserving dignity, respect, and the opportunity to reach our full potential – may well be the ultimate value underlying social insurance. In other words, all of us for each of us. And that is no doubt why so many Americans profess their love for programs like Social Security.
In honor of Black History Month, the National Academy of Social Insurance wishes to recognize African American public servants who have led the nation’s major federal social insurance programs, Social Security and Medicare, as well as the Department of Labor, which plays a role in state-based social insurance programs, Workers’ Compensation and Unemployment Insurance.
(In alphabetical order)
Carolyn W. Colvin served as Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), appointed on February 14, 2013. On June 20, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated her to serve as the commissioner. On September 18, 2014, the United States Senate Committee on Finance approved her nomination by a 22–2 vote. However, her nomination was never brought up for a vote before the full Senate. Colvin stepped down as Acting Commissioner in January 2017. Previously, she served as Deputy Commissioner of SSA, having been nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the United States Senate in 2010. Colvin began her public service career in Maryland in the office of U.S. Senator Paul S. Sarbanes in 1982. Her distinguished public service career includes positions for the City of Baltimore and the state of Maryland, as well as other positions at SSA. A member of the National Academy of Social Insurance since 2011, Ms. Colvin received her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Business Administration from Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.
Alexis M. Herman served as the U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1997 to 2005. She brought more than two decades of leadership to the position of and spent her entire career on the front line of the changing workforce – as a businesswoman, a government executive, and a community leader – developing, promoting, and implementing policies to benefit workers and to increase opportunities and skills for the hard-to-employ. Before joining President Clinton’s Cabinet, Herman served in the administration as assistant to the President and director of the White House Public Liaison Office. She served as the 23rd Secretary of Labor and the first African American to head the department. Herman led the Department of Labor to focus its work on three goals: a prepared workforce, a secure workforce and a quality workforce. Secretary Herman received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Xavier University in New Orleans.
Gwendolyn King was appointed Commissioner of the Social Security Administration from 1989 to 1992, by President George H. W. Bush. After stepping down, she took on a senior vice president position at Philadelphia Electric Company. Prior to her appointment at SSA, King held illustrious positions including, executive vice president at Gogol & Associates, Inc., tenure in the White House as Deputy Assistant to President Reagan, Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, Director of then Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh's D.C. office, Senior Legislative Assistant to Senator John Heinz, and director of the Division of Consumer Complaints for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. King earned her bachelor’s degree in French and education from Howard University.
William Toby, Jr., served as Acting Administrator of the U.S. Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), now the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), for 18 months from 1992-1993. He is a 31-year veteran of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and has been a private healthcare consultant since retiring in 1996 from his position as Regional Administrator of HCFA. Toby has served on many public service boards, received a number of prestigious awards, and holds a Master’s Degree in health administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, a Master’s in social work from Adelphi University, a Bachelor’s in Spanish and psychology from West Virginia State University, an honorable doctorate in podiatric medicine, and holds advanced certificates in Spanish from the Universities of Leon and Toledo in Spain.
In 1991, at the recommendation of then Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, President George H. W. Bush appointed Toby a U.S. Delegate to the first and historic African & African-American Summit, which was held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The Summit brought together the heads of four African nations with distinguished African American leaders to discuss the African Diaspora and how the American leaders could assist their ancestral homeland. In 2012, New York Governor Cuomo appointed Toby to the prestigious Medicaid Redesign Workgroup for a study of safety net hospitals in Brooklyn, NY. Later, in 2015, Governor Cuomo appointed Toby Co-Chair of the State’s Medicaid Delivery System Reform Incentive Program (DSRIP) designed to use $9 billion to transform the State’s health care delivery system move away from the acute care system. In 2015, following an earlier commendation by the Puerto Rico Legislature, the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce and the Puerto Rico Medicare Coalition presented Toby with a prestigious Life Achievement Award for his forty-five years of assistance to the Puerto Rico health sector.
Improving access to affordable, high-quality health coverage and care and containing health care spending remain formidable policy challenges for the United States. Some policymakers and analysts view Medicare as a useful platform for expanding coverage because it has broad popularity, serves as a cost-effective source of health insurance coverage, and has potentially positive side effects across other parts of the health care system. Proposals to expand Medicare eligibility present, however, an extensive set of technical and program design considerations.
To address the lack of specificity in many proposals, the National Academy of Social Insurance formed the Study Panel on Medicare Eligibility to examine the options for and implications of extending eligibility for Medicare beyond the current covered populations. Composed of 27 members, the Study Panel brought together expertise and experience from a broad range of perspectives, such as economics, health policy, political science, sociology, medicine, and law, as well as people with direct experience working in areas related to public and private health insurance, including actuaries, health plan administrators, health care providers, labor representatives, and government regulators.
The report examines three approaches to changing Medicare eligibility: lowering the eligibility age, establishing Medicare-for-all, and creating a Medicare buy-in. Variants of these approaches could be designed to address key policy objectives, including expanding coverage, improving the affordability of access and care, and containing health care costs. The report aims to help policymakers and the public understand potential impacts as expansion options continue to be considered and debated.
Download the full report.
Download a primer on Medicare.
Download the Executive Summary.
Read the press release.
Infographics coming soon!
The Academy gratefully acknowledges the work of the individuals who served on the Study Panel—especially its Co-Chairs Marilyn Moon and Cori Uccello—and the researchers who assisted with its writing. The Academy also thanks the Commonwealth Fund, Arnold Ventures, the Buffin Foundation, the AFL-CIO, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and the University of Maryland for their support of the Study Panel’s work.
View the full report, Examining Approaches to Expand Medicare Eligibility: Key Design Options and Implications.
Executive Summary
The current system of insurance coverage in the United States has led to persistent gaps
in access to affordable coverage and care—leaving 1 in 10 without coverage and nearly
a third of adults under the age of 65 with inadequate coverage that puts them at risk
of health and financial insecurity. Additionally, U.S. per capita health care spending was
$9,892 in 2016, 145 percent higher than the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) median of $4,033. U.S. spending on health care grew at a faster rate than the OECD median between 2000 and 2016 (Anderson, Hussey, and Petrosyan 2019). The rising cost of health care puts pressure on individuals and families, employers, and federal and state governments.
Improving access to affordable, high-quality health coverage and care and constraining
health care spending remain formidable policy challenges for the United States. In
response, candidates, state and federal officeholders, academics, and a variety of
stakeholders are presenting a wide range of proposals, including proposals to change
Medicare eligibility. The Study Panel examined three approaches to changing Medicare
eligibility and assessed how variants of these approaches could be designed to address
key policy objectives, including expanding coverage, improving the affordability of access
and care, and containing health care costs. The three approaches considered were:
Proposals to adapt Medicare to extend coverage to new beneficiary populations present
a significant set of technical and program design considerations. This report attempts
to identify the options for changing Medicare eligibility, or creating a Medicare-like
program, and to provide an assessment of the issues that would need to be addressed.
Such considerations include:
Medicare as a Platform for Reform
Although myriad possible paths might address the underlying challenges in today’s
health system, this report focuses on assessing only approaches that use Medicare as the
basis for expanding health insurance coverage. Some policymakers and analysts view
Medicare as a useful platform for reform because it serves as a cost-effective source of
health insurance coverage, because it is a program with broad popularity, and because
expanding Medicare might have beneficial effects in other coverage markets and across
the health care system.
Key Design Challenges and Policy Impacts
All of the discussed approaches involve underlying key design decisions that determine
the impact that proposals would have on the affordability of coverage, access to care,
and overall health care system costs.
Lowering the Age of Medicare Eligibility
In the years before reaching Medicare’s current eligibility age of 65, individuals face
risks that may leave them without access to employer-sponsored health insurance,
such as job loss or early retirement for health or family reasons. Although Affordable
Care Act of 2010 (ACA) provisions ensure the availability of comprehensive coverage
in the individual market, older adults who lack employer-sponsored insurance may
face relatively costly premiums in the individual market, especially if they do not
qualify for premium tax credits. Relative to other Medicare expansion proposals,
lowering the age of Medicare eligibility, discussed in Chapter 2, could serve as
an administratively simple way to secure more affordable, stable health coverage
for early retirees and workers approaching retirement compared to some other
approaches. It would be a uniform change to Medicare rather than an optional offer
of Medicare coverage (a possibility discussed in Chapter 4).
Extending Medicare to individuals under 65 could build on the current Medicare
infrastructure, retaining today’s covered benefits, provider payment structure,
premium and cost-sharing structure, subsidies for low-income persons, and
secondary payer provisions for persons with employer-sponsored coverage.
Although defaulting to the current Medicare program structure is the most
straightforward and administratively simple approach, extending the program to
a younger population creates specific design challenges that policymakers would
need to address, such as changing the enrollment processes. These challenges
increase the further the age is lowered. While lowering the eligibility age to 62
would have a relatively small incremental impact, reducing the age to 50 would almost double the number of Americans eligible for Medicare coverage. According to
approximations presented in the report:
An age-based expansion of Medicare eligibility would decrease the share of the
population that is uninsured and underinsured, although the magnitude could be
small if only incremental changes are made. While the uninsured share is currently
much lower among adults ages 50–64 than the rest of the adult population, they tend
to be sicker than their younger counterparts, so the consequences of being uninsured
(or underinsured) can be more severe. Lowering the age of Medicare eligibility could
provide significant cost relief to a cohort of older Americans, particularly middleincome
persons who devote a relatively high share of their income to coverage,
especially to individuals who purchase policies on the individual market and are
ineligible for subsidies.
Lowering the age of Medicare eligibility could reduce premiums for the existing
Medicare population, but the effect on younger adults in the ACA individual market
is not clear. For newly eligible beneficiaries, lowering the age is likely to improve their
access and choice of providers and plans, but it could reduce revenues for hospitals
and physicians. Employers and states could see savings under this cost shift because
the costs of coverage for an expanded beneficiary population would be shifted from
private insurance and Medicaid to the Medicare program. Such a shift would reduce
long-term solvency of the Medicare trust funds and increase pressures on the federal
budget unless provisions to raise additional revenues accompanied the extension
of the program. Lowering the age of Medicare eligibility without introducing other
changes to the Medicare program is relatively straightforward administratively as
compared to other eligibility changes considered in this report.
Approaches to Medicare for All
Medicare-for-all proposals, as discussed in Chapter 3, aim to use the current Medicare
program to achieve universal coverage and to fulfill the related goals of increasing the
affordability of insurance and care and reducing inequities in access. In one approach to
a Medicare-for-all system, virtually all Americans would be covered through a program
that resembles traditional Medicare in that the government could pay providers for
covered services and private insurance would be limited to a supplementary role.
Under an alternate approach, a Medicare-for-all system could retain a role for Medicare
Advantage plans and enrollees would have a choice between a public plan and private
plans in a system of regulated competition.
Either of these approaches to Medicare-for-all could extend many features of today’s
Medicare, but any proposal would deviate from current Medicare at least in terms of
eligibility and enrollment and financing mechanisms. Other aspects could change as
well, including covered benefits, cost-sharing requirements, and provider payment
mechanisms. The specific program features carry important implications for health care
providers and workers, employers, and insured individuals. Four design decisions are key
to any such proposal: the role of private insurance plans, comprehensiveness of benefits,
effectiveness of cost control mechanisms, and selected financing mechanisms.
Expansion of the Medicare beneficiary population to include all or most U.S. residents
would do the following:
A Medicare-for-all program would increase federal spending significantly. Changes in
financing mechanisms might attempt to capture some current spending by states and
employers as part of needed federal revenues. The effects of Medicare-for-all on total
national health expenditures are less clear; national spending could be less than or greater
than under the current system. Factors affecting total expenditures include the degree
of (a) increased utilization by the formerly uninsured and underinsured; (b) increases in benefit coverage or reductions in cost-sharing requirements; and (c) savings achieved
to the extent that there would be a broader application of Medicare payment rates,
administrative simplification, and reductions in drug costs. While analysts have reached
different conclusions on the extent of costs or savings under Medicare-for-all, savings
could be less and the administration more complex under a system that includes MA plans.
Transitioning from the current fragmented health insurance structure to a system in which
Medicare covers almost the entire population would entail major changes to the current
health care system, including significantly altering the role of the private health insurance
industry, altering how health insurance is funded, and changing health care provider
revenue. A gradual phase-in period accompanied by careful monitoring of impacts on
service access and quality could facilitate the transition to the new system and minimize
disruption by allowing providers and other stakeholders time to adapt to dramatically
altered circumstances.
Establishing a Medicare Buy-In Program
A Medicare buy-in program, as discussed in Chapter 4, could be designed to allow
individuals and/or groups not otherwise entitled to Medicare to enroll by paying a
premium for coverage that builds on Medicare benefits, provider networks, and/or
payment rates. Policymakers have typically proposed an individual Medicare buy-in
to expand access to affordable coverage for older adults not yet eligible for Medicare
who face relatively high premiums in the ACA individual market. A Medicare
buy-in program could also be designed to cover a much broader segment of the
population; for example, it could allow employers to buy into Medicare on their
employees’ behalf, in the interest of making comprehensive employer-sponsored
insurance coverage more affordable for individuals and employers.
A buy-in program is not synonymous with a “public” option. A Medicare buy-in and
a public option would each create an optional, publicly facilitated or administered
health insurance plan. As analyzed in this chapter, a Medicare buy-in would use a
benefit and premium design built on the Medicare program, use provider payment
rates based on Medicare rates, and create a risk pool separate from the current
Medicare beneficiary pool and the ACA individual market. A public plan option
would compete directly in the ACA individual market, following ACA requirements
and regulations, and enrollees would be included in the single ACA individual
market risk pool. Creating a Medicare buy-in program would provide an additional
and optional coverage source for individuals deemed eligible and workers with
employers that choose to participate. How much a buy-in approach would meet
policy goals such as coverage expansion, cost containment, and affordability
depends on key design choices, notably:
A Medicare buy-in program differs from directly lowering the eligibility age because
participation in the buy-in would be optional. Individuals and employers would make
their decisions about whether to opt for the buy-in based on its benefit package,
provider access, costs (including premiums and any premium and cost-sharing
assistance), how those features compare to other coverage options, and an individual’s
expected health care needs. With the addition of a significant amount of plan choice,
however, comes an additional burden of administrative complexity, especially with the
interaction of the buy-in and the ACA individual market. The optional nature of the buyin
program also limits the potential impact of the buy-in on specific policy goals, such as
expanding coverage. Important policy impacts include the following:
While a Medicare buy-in program would build on the popularity of the current
Medicare program without substantially restructuring or replacing all other forms of
coverage, it would also add a layer of complexity to the current, already fragmented,
health insurance system and would complicate consumer decisions. A Medicare
buy-in would significantly increase the administrative challenges for the Medicare
program because buy-in enrollees would have a higher level of turnover due to events such as job changes. It would raise important challenges for coordination
with other options such as the ACA market plans. A Medicare buy-in available to
employers as well as individuals would add even more administrative complexity
and require an enhanced administrative infrastructure to handle enrollment and
disenrollment, collect payments, and manage eligibility for the individual and
employer buy-in population.
Summary of Findings
These three approaches address the goals of increasing coverage, improving
affordability and access to care, and controlling system-wide health care costs,
but each one presents different orders of magnitude. A Medicare-for-all program,
the most ambitious, aims for near-universal coverage and would likely have the
greatest impact on access and affordability for the entire population. Although
Medicare-for-all could have the greatest impact of the three options on systemwide
cost containment, the impact depends on the level of provider payment rates,
prescription drug pricing, and level of administrative savings. It would also require
the greatest amount of additional federal revenue and resources while potentially
lowering net costs for some individuals or other payers.
Lowering the age of Medicare eligibility and offering a Medicare buy-in program
would target specific portions of the population, and the impacts on policy goals
are by design more limited. The impact of lowering the age of Medicare eligibility
would be similar in direction to Medicare-for-all, but it would have a much smaller
scope, even if the eligibility age were lowered to 50. The Study Panel’s analysis finds
that the impact of a Medicare buy-in is most difficult to determine. It would be
highly dependent on underlying design decisions and the complicated relationships
that would be created with existing coverage options. The buy-in approach may
have a limited impact on increasing overall coverage rates and controlling systemwide
health care costs, but it would improve affordability and access to care for
participating individuals. Although often suggested as a simple add-on to improve
the ACA, in practice a Medicare buy-in would greatly increase the complexity of the
current health care system.
Closing Comments
Improving access to affordable, high-quality health coverage and care and
constraining health care spending remain formidable policy challenges for the
United States. When there is widespread public perception that coverage and access
problems are significant enough to require action, a window for reform opens.
Evidence that the nation has reached such a point includes polls indicating that health
care is a top issue for voters heading into the 2020 presidential election, as it was in
the 2018 midterm elections. Significant problems in the health care system do not
necessarily point to particular paths for reform, but they do create demand for change.
Because it would make use of an existing and popular coverage platform, extending
Medicare to a broader population may seem to be a straightforward way to address
the challenges of affordability, coverage, and cost containment. Although positive
impacts on coverage and access to care would result from extending Medicare to more
Americans, such a change also involves substantial challenges in program design and
implementation. Policymakers need to acknowledge that Medicare is a complicated
program, one that some believe is also in need of reform; that the health care sector
is a large, profitable share of the U.S. economy; and that any significant change
in Medicare eligibility is likely to help individuals who qualify for coverage while
potentially disadvantaging other stakeholders.
Covid-19, officially a pandemic as of March 11 (WHO), has generated proposals to deal with the health and income security needs of all Americans. This article serves as a summary of some of the latest proposals (as of March 15) and issues to address.
Many proposals center on core social insurance programs – Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, Medicare, and Workers’ Comp – as well as new policies for paid leave, which have significant power to protect against the economic and health risks facing Americans now. The prospect of a severe economic downturn has focused policymakers on the recession-ready features and automatic stabilizers of social insurance programs, as well as their capacity to counter inequality. Some proposals would modify core social insurance programs, while others would introduce new programs. Grounded in social insurance principles, these immediate supports would help to better protect full-time and part-time workers, retirees, and others.
In a welcome spirit of bipartisanship, the House of Representatives passed legislation, the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act,” on March 13, 2020. This legislation, which is now being considered by the Senate, addresses some of the risks that this pandemic has accentuated. References to specific provisions of this legislation are included below.
Social Security
Many Social Security recipients rely nearly exclusively on their monthly benefits for income, with little ability to deal with financial emergencies resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. As such, a temporary boost in benefits may be prudent to meet a potential need for more cash. The International Social Security Association, which comprises over 320 institutions in more than 150 countries, has called on Social Security systems across the world to “take the necessary measures as early as possible to cope with an increased demand for benefits and services.”
Academy Member Charles Hall notes that the above-referenced House legislation gives the Social Security Administration (SSA) “major new responsibility for Covid-19 emergency paid leave payments” (see below for more on paid leave). This legislation also includes the following language: “Social Security’s Trust Funds and regular administrative budget will be kept separate from this new program and cannot be used to administer or fund it.”
The Trump Administration is also proposing a new “payroll tax holiday” to address the economic implications of Covid-19. A two-percentage point temporary reduction in Social Security contributions was part of the federal stimulus package enacted in 2010 in response to the Great Recession. However, Academy Member Max Richtman, CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, cautions against enacting similar proposals now as a form of economic stimulus, asking – “how many would willingly trade their future financial security for a few dollars in payroll tax cuts?”
Paid Leave, Caregiving, Universal Family Care
As the final report of the Academy’s Study Panel on Universal Family Care noted, the United States is one of the few developed countries without a national paid family leave policy. No federal laws require employers to provide paid sick leave or paid time off to care for family members. Only a few states currently have such mandates. Moreover, lack of flexible leave options means that many Americans, who would prefer to stay home during the worst of the crisis to avoid contracting the virus, or who may have it but do not yet show symptoms, will exacerbate the spread unnecessarily.
The above-referenced House legislation includes $15 million for the Internal Revenue Service to implement tax credits for paid sick and paid family and medical leave. It provides a refundable tax credit equal to 100 percent of qualified paid sick leave wages paid by an employer for each calendar quarter. It also provides employees of employers with fewer than 500 employees and government employers, who have been on the job for at least 30 days, with the right take up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act to be used for any of the following reasons:
• To adhere to a requirement or recommendation to quarantine due to exposure to or symptoms of coronavirus
• To care for an at-risk family member who is adhering to a requirement or recommendation to quarantine due to exposure to or symptoms of coronavirus, and
• To care for a child of an employee if the child’s school or place of care has been closed, or the child-care provider is unavailable, due to a coronavirus.
After two weeks of paid leave, employees will receive a benefit from their employers that will be no less than two-thirds of the employee’s usual pay.
This legislation also incorporates “The Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act,” which requires employers with fewer than 500 employees and government employers to provide employees two weeks of paid sick leave, paid at the employee’s regular rate, to quarantine or seek a diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus; or paid at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate to care for a family member for such purposes or to care for a child whose school has closed, or child care provider is unavailable, due to the coronavirus. Full-time employees are entitled to two weeks (80 hours) and part-time employees are entitled to the typical number of hours that they work in a typical two-week period.
Academy Member Aparna Mathur explored paid medical time off in more depth in a recent American Enterprise Institute blog post. Similarly, Academy Senior Fellow Sarah Jane Glynn has co-authored an article calling for a national paid leave policy.
Another dimension of this crisis relates to long-term services and supports (LTSS), which has been highlighted by the early fatalities involving nursing home patients in the state of Washington. To the extent that Covid-19 leads to long-term debilitation among substantial numbers of older Americans, the shortcomings in current financing options for LTSS will be exacerbated. As the above-referenced Academy Study Panel, which included a Working Group of 16 LTSS experts, noted in its final report: “(t)he fundamental LTSS financing problem today is the absence of an effective insurance mechanism to protect people against these costs.”
Medicare
As noted in the Academy’s recently-released final report of its Study Panel on Medicare Eligibility, 27.5 million Americans were uninsured at some point during 2018. While non-Hispanic white Americans had an uninsurance rate of 5.4 percent, black Americans were nearly twice as likely to be uninsured (9.7 percent) and Hispanics were over three times as likely to face those risks (17.8 percent). Lower-income households also had much higher uninsurance rates, and approximately 5 million undocumented immigrants were uninsured in 2017. These uninsured individuals have no current coverage for tests, vaccines, or treatment, making it difficult for them to protect themselves and others. Even those with health insurance may face high deductibles or copays.
The recent House legislation requires Medicare Part B to cover beneficiary cost-sharing for provider visits during which a COVID-19 diagnostic test is administered or ordered. It also requires Medicare Advantage to provide coverage for COVID-19 diagnostic testing, including the associated cost of the visit in order to receive testing. Coverage must be provided at no cost to the beneficiary. Similar provisions apply to Medicaid.
This bill also includes $1 billion for the National Disaster Medical System to reimburse the costs of COVID19 diagnostic testing and services provided to individuals without health insurance. It requires private health plans to provide coverage for COVID-19 diagnostic testing, including the cost of a provider, urgent care center and emergency room visits to receive testing. Coverage must be provided at no cost to the consumer.
Unemployment Insurance
In past economic crises, like the last major recession, Unemployment Insurance (UI) has been expanded to meet rising need.
The above-referenced House legislation provides $1 billion for emergency grants to states for activities related to processing and paying UI benefits, under certain conditions. $500 million would be used to provide immediate additional funding to all states for staffing, technology, systems, and other administrative costs, so long as they met basic requirements about ensuring access to earned benefits for eligible workers. $500 million would be reserved for emergency grants to states which experienced at least a 10 percent increase in unemployment. Those states would be eligible to receive an additional grant to assist with costs related to the unemployment spike, and would also be required to take steps to temporarily ease eligibility requirements that are limiting access to UI during the Covid-19 outbreak, like work search requirements, required waiting periods, and requirements to increase employer UI taxes if they have high layoff rates. The Secretary of Labor will also provide technical assistance to states that want to set up work-sharing programs, in which employers reduce hours instead of laying employees off, and then employees receive partial unemployment benefits to offset the wage loss.
Some states, like Rhode Island, have already taken measures to increase access to benefits, such as waiving waiting periods to apply for UI.
Depending on the severity of the potential downturn, more measures may be needed. Some have proposed an expanded and more flexible UI program to cover individuals who are laid off or whose workplaces close. Proposals include increasing the amount paid and/or the duration of benefits based on various triggers, with the federal government subsidizing state payments toward UI. Others have also proposed that the current UI requirement that people look for work be waived during this crisis. Suggestions include having triggers be based on an increase in the average of UI claims above a certain threshold, on industry triggers (workers in leisure industries such as airlines and hotels would qualify), or on geographical triggers based on a serious regional outbreak. Under these proposals, UI coverage wouldn't go into effect until certain thresholds are met.
Others have recommended extending UI benefits paid entirely by the federal government if the crisis continues for a long period of time. They worry that households will reduce their spending in response to increased fear of job loss. They assert that federally financed extended benefits will be more likely to meet individual needs than will state financing given states’ budgetary constraints. Indeed, a key strength of social insurance is its capacity to counter these potential negative macroeconomic effects of a pandemic.
For example, Academy Member Stephen Wandner has stated: “Strengthening the UI program can help provide income to covered unemployed workers, but it will not help workers without sick leave who are still employed, and it won’t help workers who are not covered by UI. As a result, a two-pronged policy effort should be undertaken to provide income support, each program being enacted for 18 months.” He has proposed a Covid-19 “UI Policy” and a Covid-19 “Special Unemployment Assistance” program. For a copy of his proposal, please email him at stephen.wandner@gmail.com.
Workers’ Compensation
A workplace outbreak of Covid-19 might lead to a significant increase in Workers’ Compensation (WC) claims. In addition to unique risks that healthcare workers face, they often do not have the option of teleworking. Along with workers in other services areas and in retail, they may have a higher risk of exposure to the virus.
While WC provides coverage for injuries arising out of and in the course of employment, there are separate rules that deal with work-borne diseases with variations from state-to-state. For example, Virginia’s WC Act covers “occupational diseases,” which are defined as diseases that arise out of and in the course of employment, but generally does not include “ordinary diseases of life” to which the general public is exposed outside of employment, unless a claimant meets certain heightened proof requirements. According to one legal interpretation, “a claimant alleging work-related coronavirus would need to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the disease arose out of and in the course of the employment and did not result from causes outside of the employment.”
Some states are expanding coverage during this emergency. For example, the state of Washington “is taking steps to ensure Workers’ Compensation protections for health care workers and first responders who are on the front lines of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak.”
Academy Member John Ruser, President & CEO of the Workers Compensation Research Institute, noted that many are wondering “what the impact would be on state Workers’ Compensation systems if there were a downturn, particularly from an external factor such as the coronavirus.” Among the questions he has raised are:
Assured Income
Finally, some propose that the federal government create a new stimulus program that provides money to every American. Writing for the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, former Federal Reserve economist Claudia Sahm has suggested measures that go beyond the Fed’s monetary policymaking. She notes that “(a)ny person who has the coronavirus, is quarantined, or stays home to care for a loved one needs financial support immediately.” She recommended that “(t)he federal government should send them money—a check for $1,000, all at once, not $70 a week.” She added: “The federal government needs to give people the financial support they need to get healthy, stay healthy, and keep their family and co-workers healthy. This is a public health crisis—all arms of the federal government need to take coordinated action now.”
Similarly, Academy Member Jason Furman, former Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, has proposed as a fiscal stimulus that “Congress should pass a simple one-time payment of $1,000 to every adult who is a U.S. citizen or a taxpaying U.S. resident, and $500 to every child who meets the same criteria.”
The Economic Security Project (ESP), one of the funders of the Academy’s Economic Security Study Panel noted below, advocates for an “Emergency Money to the People” initiative to “provide immediate financial support to the millions of American families who were already living paycheck-to-paycheck before this crisis unfolded.” An emergency cash infusion would offer at least $1,000 and up to $6,000 to individuals and households, covering two-thirds of all Americans. A fact sheet and full policy details may be found at https://www.economicsecurityproject.org/emergencymoney.
The Academy’s Economic Security Study Panel
The Academy has a vehicle in place to explore a wide range of policy approaches to the risk of economic insecurity that the current health crisis has intensified. Our Study Panel on Economic Security, launched in November 2019, is currently examining such approaches and is on target to issue its final report by the end of this year. In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, however, one or more of the Study Panel’s Working Groups – Early Life, Middle Life, Late Life, and Financing – might decide to issue an interim report focusing on more immediate federal action.
In the final analysis, some people – due to biology and/or socioeconomic status – will be able to handle this crisis more safely and with less financial disruption than others. All of us, and especially the most vulnerable segments of our population, will need an effective public policy response that addresses health and economic risks through social insurance and related mechanisms. We must not succumb to panic, remembering President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s famous admonition that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
In times of heightened risks such as these, we are reminded once again of the importance of social insurance programs, the principles of risk reduction that underlie them, and the values that inspire them. As we plan for the future, social insurance principles continue to guide us.
The Academy’s 32nd annual policy conference explored the implications of using Medicare as a coverage expansion platform for the overall health care system. Below are a few highlights and key takeaways from the convening.
Speaker slides and more info can be found on the conference page.
Healthcare and the 2020 Elections
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Moderated by Katie Keith, Principal at Keith Policy Solutions, this opening panel featured Chris Jennings, Founder and President of Jennings Policy Strategies, and Rodney Whitlock, Vice President of McDermott+Consulting. The panel discussed various drivers of the renewed interest in health care reform, reflected on the ten-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, and hypothesized as to how the health care debate will continue to play out as we approach the November election.
What is driving today’s reform debate?
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Moderated by Cori Uccello, Senior Health Fellow for the American Academy of Actuaries and Marilyn Moon, retired, American Institutes for Research, Panel 1 provided an overview of current health policy issues, including persistent problems of uninsurance and underinsurance, affordability challenges, health disparities and inequities, and the rising cost of health care in the United States. Sara Collins, Vice President for Health Care Coverage and Access at the Commonwealth Fund, began the session with an in-depth analysis on the status of U.S. health insurance coverage. Building on Collins’ remarks, Mark Miller, Executive Vice President of Health Care at Arnold Ventures, discussed the rising problem of high health care costs for households, business, and the federal and state governments. As we continue to debate which policies would best address these issues, professor of sociology and public affairs at Princeton University Paul Starr’s presentation on the history of Medicare reminded us that there are lessons to be learned from previous health reform efforts. Audience questions focused on the prioritization of health policy goals and cautions from previous health reform debates that policymakers should consider.
What are the key equity priorities for health care reform?
Lauren LeRoy, Strategic Adviser for LeRoy Strategies, moderated Panel 2 and emphasized how the Affordable Care Act provides broad benefits for all segments of the population, including generally improving equity, but noted that the benefits are still unevenly distributed and politically fragile. Gwendolyn Majette, Associate Professor of Law, Center for Health Law and Policy at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, continued this discussion with an overview of health care reform progress and shortcomings over the last 50 years. She pointed to improvements in health for people of color, explained how the ACA laid the groundwork for a pathway to achieve equity and eliminate disparities, and highlighted the equity priorities that should be considered in proposals to expand Medicare eligibility. Harold Pollack, Helen Ross Professor at the School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago, followed with his presentation on the disability “blind spot” in health care reform. Although there has been great progress in improving access to health care and services for persons with disabilities, Pollack emphasized that the disability community has been marginalized in the current healthcare reform debate, noting that disability policy alone is as costly and complicated as the rest of health policy combined. Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, former Chairwoman of the Maryland Democratic Party, discussed advances in equity as a result of the ACA and the pros and cons of building upon the ACA to achieve universal coverage. Following the presentations, audience questions steered the conversation to the intersection of health care, social assistance, education, and criminal justice reform in addressing disparities and achieving equity.
What are the challenges and implications of broad cost-containment efforts?
Panel 3, moderated by Elizabeth Docteur, principal of Elizabeth Docteur Consulting, discussed Medicare’s potential appeal as a platform to contain costs through lower payment rates, payment innovations, increased administrative efficiency, and additional cost-containment strategies. Gerard Anderson, professor of health policy at Johns Hopkins University, began the discussion with his recent paper, It’s Still The Prices, Stupid: Why The US Spends So Much On Health Care, And A Tribute To Uwe Reinhardt. Anderson emphasized why the United States is unique in its very high spending on health care. Then, Zack Cooper, associate professor of health policy and economics at Yale University, discussed the political challenges of implementing health care cost-control policies. Robert Berenson, MD, Institute Fellow at the Urban Institute, gave a presentation on the potential for cost-control through realigned incentives for social services investment, as well as what might be achievable in savings from administrative simplification. Q&A included the role of health policy experts in shaping reform, Medicare reimbursement rates, and the cost of medical education.
How compatible is the business of healthcare with patient health?
The luncheon presentation by Elisabeth Rosenthal, MD, Editor-in-Chief for Kaiser Health News (KHN) and author of An American Sickness: How Healthcare became Big Business and How You Can Take it Back, explored the question of why health care is so expensive in the United States. Through real stories of patients’ outrageous medical bills, Rosenthal examined how the healthcare industry has come to be more about finances rather than patient health.
What are the key design implications for select health policy approaches?
After the luncheon keynote, conference participants moved to breakout sessions, each focusing on a particular set of health policy proposals.
Transitioning to Medicare for All: Impact on Consumers, Employers, Private Insurers, and Providers
Establishing a Medicare Buy-in or Public Option: Balancing Beneficiary Choice and Administrative Feasibility
Reinforcing Current Programs: Incremental Changes to Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act
How could expansion proposals be financed, and what are the implications of specific financing mechanisms?
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Any Medicare expansion proposal will affect health care costs and the distribution of the financing burden across the population, relieving pressure in some ways and increasing it in others. Panel 4, moderated by Washington Post columnist Helaine Olen, began with a presentation by John Holahan, Institute Fellow at the Urban Institute, which outlined the estimated costs of both incremental and comprehensive proposals. Marc Goldwein, Vice President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), then discussed potential financing mechanisms for Medicare-for-all proposals and their possible impacts on equity and the economy as a whole. Katherine Baicker, Dean of the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, discussed the potential impacts of financing methods on the growth in health care spending and on overall economic growth. Panelists then answered audience questions on balancing positive and negative economic impacts of reform proposals, comparisons of international tax systems, and assumptions about administrative savings.
Quality, Mercy, and the Moral Determinants of Health
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Donald M. Berwick, MD, President Emeritus and Senior Fellow, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, gave a spellbinding closing keynote. He reminded participants of the core underlying value of mercy in health care, and emphasized the critical importance of placing mercy at the center of discussions about health care reform. In his vision for reform, patients come first, the poor are prioritized, returns from improvements to technology go to patients, and costs are lowered whenever possible. Berwick’s call to action, a “Campaign of Morality” to reintroduce mercy, compassion, and inclusion into the policies of the United States, received a standing ovation from conference participants.
Proposals to adapt Medicare to extend coverage to new beneficiary populations present a significant set of technical and program design challenges. As a leading hub for health policy experts, the National Academy of Social Insurance formed the Study Panel on Medicare Eligibility to examine the options for, and implications of, extending eligibility for Medicare beyond the current covered populations.
We are pleased to have co-chaired the Academy’s Medicare Eligibility Study Panel. The Panel’s final report, Examining Approaches to Expand Medicare Eligibility: Key Design Options and Implications, is the culmination of over 10 months of extensive deliberations among 27 Panel members from various disciplines.
Study Panel members included experts from economics, health policy, political science, sociology, medicine, and law, as well as people with direct experience working in areas related to public and private health insurance, actuaries, health plan administrators, health care providers, labor representatives, and government regulators. The Panel’s discussions helped all of us appreciate the complexities that arise when trying to improve the functioning of our healthcare system. Our goal was to provide needed technical clarity on the design and implications of proposals to build upon the Medicare program, and we are grateful to the time and care these experts devoted to this effort.
Why focus on Medicare Eligibility? Why is this report essential to read?
Health care is a top issue for voters heading into the 2020 presidential election, as it was in the 2018 midterm elections. Many policymakers and presidential candidates have proposals that build upon Medicare because it would make use of an existing and popular coverage platform and seems to be a straightforward way to address the challenges of affordability, coverage, and cost containment.
Positive impacts on coverage and access to care could result from extending Medicare to more Americans, but such a change also involves substantial challenges in program design and implementation. It is important to be able to balance tradeoffs among these challenges when considering which, if any, represent the best option for improving coverage and lowering the costs of health care.
We hope that the findings in this report will increase understanding of Medicare-based approaches, and be used by researchers, journalists, policymakers, and other audiences to analyze and design feasible policy options.
What is in the Report?
Rather than focusing on the current bills and presidential campaigns, the Study Panel examined three general approaches to changing Medicare eligibility and assessed how variants of these approaches could be designed to address specific policy objectives. The three approaches were:
This report delineates each approach’s design options, tradeoffs, challenges, and implications. The key policy design decisions examined include:
The Study Panel then examined the potential impacts of the three proposals on various policy goals and objectives including, expanding coverage and improving access to care, containing growth in health care spending, and increasing affordability, equity, and administrative simplicity.
Historic legislation passed by the Senate (S. 3548) and the House (H.R. 748) – the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act – and signed into law on March 27, 2020, includes the provision of one-time payments to individuals who meet certain eligibility requirements. The effectiveness of the CARES Act’s one-time infusion of financial assistance to eligible individuals will need to be assessed, as Congress works to further address the economic catastrophe confronting our nation.
COVID-19 both highlights and exacerbates the economic insecurity of millions and growing inequality in the United States. Instead of taking an approach based on the social insurance principle of universality, where such payments would be made to all, the CARES Act deploys tax policy based more on the social assistance principle of targeting. Both eligibility for, and the amount of, payments are income-tested. There are more complex dimensions to both approaches, as each has multiple goals to meet standards of fairness and efficient use of resources. The approach taken by Congress has elements of both broad distribution and progressivity.
A follow-up round of legislation might take a long-range approach with the goal of providing all with some form of assured income. Such an approach will acknowledge the need to prepare for the next virus or natural disaster by filling gaps in the nation’s current economic security infrastructure, rather than short-term damage control measures.
CARES Act Rebates
Regulations will clarify more details about provisions of the CARES Act. In the meantime, based on legislative language to-date, this summary answers the following questions:
Background
The “Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020” (H.R 6074), referred to as “Phase 1” of a fiscal stimulus, passed Congress with bipartisan support in both chambers and was signed into law on March 6, 2020. The “Families First Coronavirus Response Act,” (H.R. 6201) referred to as “Phase 2,” was passed by Congress and signed into law on March 20th. Neither Act had provisions for payments to individuals.
CARES, referred to as “Phase 3,” provides what it calls “2020 recovery rebates for individuals” (amending Section 6428 of the Internal Revenue Code) as part of an estimated $2 trillion stimulus package.
The CARES Act in effect reduces federal income taxes for 2020. It provides an immediate benefit by advancing that estimated reduction to eligible taxpayers as a cash payment. A taxpayer who receives a CARES payment (i.e., an advance tax credit) will pay “normal” 2020 taxes when filing in 2021, having already received an “advance” of the estimated tax reduction.
Who will receive payments?
Full one-time payments will be made to: single taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes (AGI) of $75,000 or less; married couples filing jointly with AGIs of $150,000 or less; and heads of households (typically single parents with children) with AGIs of less than $112,500, based on 2018 or 2019 tax filings. Payments will be reduced for taxpayers with AGIs over these amounts and will be phased out completely for single taxpayers with AGIs over $99,000, joint filers with AGIs over $198,000, and heads of households with AGIs over $146,500.
Social Security (Old Age, Survivor, and Disability Insurance) beneficiaries are eligible to receive payments, if their AGIs do not exceed the above limits. As long as they received an SSA-1099 form (the Social Security benefit statement) or its equivalent, they will receive payments via the way they get their monthly Social Security benefits.
Individuals who file returns for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), but do not otherwise pay taxes, are eligible.
Individuals who have not filed tax returns for either 2018 or 2019 will not be eligible to receive payments, unless they use their Social Security Benefit Statements (Form SSA-1099) as proof of earned income reported by their employers. Approximately 30 million individuals do not file federal tax returns, according to the Center on Budget & Policy Priorities.
No provision is made for recipients of other means-tested benefits to receive payments, if they do not have a Social Security number, or for those living “off the grid” in the underground economy.
Students and other adults will not be eligible if they are claimed as dependents on another taxpayer’s return. Non-resident aliens will not be eligible to receive these payments.
Eligible individuals, who have Social Security numbers, will not need to apply to receive payments.
A provision in an earlier form of the legislation, in which taxpayers with little or no income tax liability but at least $2,500 of qualifying income, would have been eligible for a minimum rebate check of $600 ($1,200 for joint filers), was removed in the final version of CARES.
The CARES Act calls for a public awareness campaign by Treasury, the Social Security Administration, and other federal agencies to provide information about the availability of rebates, including information for individuals who may not have filed a tax return for either 2018 or 2019.
Estimates by the American Enterprise Institute are that approximately 165 million individuals (93% of all tax filers) will receive some payments. (Kyle Pomerleau, AEI)
How much will they receive?
Individuals will receive up to $1,200. Married couples filing jointly will receive up to $2,400. Those amounts will increase by $500 for each qualifying child under age 17. The rebate amount will be reduced by $5 for each $100 a taxpayer’s AGI exceeds the phase-out threshold (as noted above). Rebates will take the form of credits against federal income taxes due for 2020, but their value will be paid as cash in advance. The rebates themselves are not taxable income.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will base these rebates on the taxpayer’s 2019 federal income tax return, if filed. If not, IRS will use 2018 returns. Rebate amounts will be reconciled based on actual 2020 income, because they are technically advances on income tax credits for 2020. Taxpayers who receive smaller rebates than they will be eligible for based on actual 2020 income will receive the difference after filing a 2020 tax return. Overpayments of rebates due to higher incomes in 2020 will not be clawed back. Rebates are “refundable” and so will not need to be returned to the IRS by taxpayers with no 2020 tax liability to offset. (Source: The Tax Foundation)
Initial estimates are that a total of $290-310 billion in payments will be made.
When will they receive payments?
The timing of payments will depend on whether recipients have a direct deposit account with the IRS for payment of income tax refunds. Earliest payments are estimated to be made in mid-April 2020. Payments by paper checks are expected to be made months later.
The fastest payments will be made electronically to the bank accounts of taxpayers who have set up such direct deposits with the IRS. For those who do not have direct deposit accounts with the IRS, including those who are “unbanked,” payments will be made by paper checks. Payments will be processed by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service of the Treasury Department. The length of delays in payments will be affected by the Bureau’s capacity to process paper checks and the accuracy of “last known” addresses on file with the IRS.
How will payments be made?
Payment will be made electronically for those with direct deposit accounts, as noted above. An estimated 70 million taxpayers have such accounts. Others will receive paper checks. Recipients will get notices by mail a few weeks after their payments have been disbursed. Notices will contain information about where the payments were sent and in what form they were made. The IRS is also reported to be exploring whether payments may be made via pre-loaded debit cards.
The IRS has created a special website to provide more information as soon as it is available. The website is https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus.
If you are interested in learning about the many wonderful benefits a massage can offer you, the following article will help. Massages can ease stress and alleviate many common ailments that slow us down and cause us discomfort. Read the following tips and advice that will convince you that you are overdue for a great massage!
Always be gentle when giving someone else a message. Even if the person you are massaging complains, you should avoid applying too much pressure to their muscles and joints. Unless you have been trained in message therapy, you are more likely to hurt them than to relieve their pain by being more forceful.
Help the massage therapist by relaxing your body. Avoid trying to “help” by tensing certain muscles or areas. The massage therapist is well-educated in various ways to maneuver your body parts to achieve the best results from massage, but their work is hindered if you can’t relax. Try doing some deep breathing and practice just letting go and trusting the therapist to do a great job.
Make sure to stand up carefully and slowly following your massage. Understand that you have been lying face down for thirty minutes to an hour. You may feel lightheaded when starting to rise, so take caution.
A deep tissue massage can help you recover from an injury. The motions used in deep tissue massages cause friction that goes against the grain of the muscle. This type of massage can help with muscle spasms and sports injuries.
Your massage can be significantly enhanced with a good scent. Don’t use overpowering scents; mild and fresh scents are best. Lean toward fragrances from fruits or flowers rather than anything that smells medicinal. The person getting the massage will be able to relax and feel more comfortable with this pleasant fragrance in the air.
When you make the decision to get massage regularly, form a rapport with the massage therapist. You’ll relax more easily if you are comfortable with the masseuse. Have a talk with the masseuse first to be sure you are comfortable.
Try not to exceed 45 minutes when you are giving a massage. Remember that you are pressing down on someone’s body for a long period of time when you are massaging. Therefore, if you do it for too long you can actually cause bruising and pain, which you will want to avoid.
Wondering where the best places are to massage on the body? Wherever the pain is! Begin with the areas that feel tense or where you experience pain. Sometimes you will notice other spots emerging, so focus on those as well. Use your own judgement as to when you should end your massage.
Don’t swear off using a massage therapist of the opposite sex. You may initially be weird about it, but get over it! Men may have the height and strength you need to work out the kinks from a really bad back, and women may have the relaxed touch you need to de-stress. Be open to whoever may best fit your current need.
How much should you tip a masseuse? If you’re at a hotel or a local spa, 20% is pretty standard. If they work from home, each therapist will typically set their own policies, but 20% is fair. If they work in a massage clinic, ask them for their rules – some will include the tip in the price.
To perform a pregnancy massage, have the expectant mother lie on her side and gently rub her back using a circular motion. A pregnancy massage is especially beneficial during the third trimester when the weight of the baby creates pressure points in the expectant mother’s lower back and buttock areas.
When you plan to book an appointment for a massage, call up a few local spas and ask them what they have to offer. You may find that they provide a massage style which you’d like to try out, or that they don’t offer the old standby you’d prefer to use.
Take advantage of the non-human massages that you can get. Instead of going to a person for your massage, there are different whirlpools that you can use, which have jets that can massage your back and body. This can be a great form of not only relief, but exercise as well.
When you decide to get a massage, make sure that you are relaxing your thoughts. It can be easy to feel nervous, especially if it’s your first time. Most professional spas usually have relaxing music playing. If you hear the music, channel your thoughts into paying attention to the individual notes. This can help you relax in your tense moments.
If you want to put some spark back into your relationship, consider giving your partner a romantic massage. They are more intimate than a standard massage and can really relax your partner for some couple focused bonding time. It will enhance your relationship through touch and make your partner feel special.
Do your best to relax while getting a massage. You might feel uncomfortable about getting a massage from a stranger, but this experience will be more enjoyable if you relax and talk to your massage therapist. Let them know about your preferences and do not hesitate to explain that you are not entirely comfortable.
When you’re near a sink, grab some soothing lotion and give your hands a little massage of their own. The hands and palms are often overlooked during the massage process. Once a week is enough to feel a big improvement in the flexibility of your fingers and reduces the development of arthritis.
It is best not to get a massage if you are intoxicated. Massage releases toxins from the body, and it can dehydrate you if your fluid levels are off balance. Alcohol in excessive amounts can increase the toxins massage is trying to release, and it can also increase feelings of dehydration. It is better to sober up a bit before enjoying your massage.
A massage can provide you with many benefits and anyone else you know who is over-worked and constantly aching. Use the tips from this article to put the power of massages to work for you and those you care about. They are fairly quick and inexpensive, but offer such a huge pay-off.
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Even the most organized and collected individuals have found themselves drawing a blank at some point or another when called upon to recite a key piece of information. Fortunately, the information found in this handpicked selection of useful tips is sure to serve you well by helping you to strengthen and enhance your ability to recall information.
By coming up with mnemonic devices, you will be able to remember things for a longer period of time. You can compare mnemonic devices to shorthand writing; the former helps with memory, while the later assists writers. You will associate information with another word, you will be able to relate it and have a map to that memory.
We are more likely to remember something that happens to us when we are around other people than when we are alone. People are drawn to others, as a result we remember our time with them, rather than when we are alone. That’s why study groups work so well.
Make sure your attention if focused on the material you want to remember. If you have other distractions going on around you – music playing, the TV on, kids talking, etc. – your mind won’t be able to focus on the material. This will result in it being hard to remember what you’ve studied.
Try to visualize what you are trying to remember. When you see a mental picture of what you want to learn, you can recall it better. Visualize things like images, charts, or special aspects of the material that you are reading. When you remember those characteristics, you can recall the material more effectively.
It is important that you stop drinking sugary drinks, like soda, when you are trying to improve your memory. Believe it or not, sugary drinks increase your blood glucose level, which in turn, deteriorates your brain function and memory. Instead, try to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
If you constantly have trouble remembering certain things, find ways to eliminate the problem once and for all. For instance, if you can never remember where you placed your car keys, put a peg by your front door where you can hang your keys the minute you enter your house. Make a list of the items you most frequently forget and then figure out a simple way to remember each of the items on your list.
Getting plenty of exercise will help your memory. Exercise improves the blood flow throughout your body, including the brain. This can invigorate your mind and improve its ability to remember. Even a brief walk for ten minutes can increase your circulation. The fresh air wakes up the brain and keeps it alert, which improves its memory capacity.
A great tip that can help you improve your memory is to seek help if you’re suffering from depression. Depression can do a number on your brain. It can make it hard for you to concentrate and remember things. Getting proper treatment can help you improve your memory.
Here is a trick for memory! As trivial as it may seem, try to do handstands! By standing on your hands, you are allowing blood flow to your brain. Having sufficient blood flow to your brain helps it to absorb and remember new information. You could also try lying on your back on your bed with your head hanging off the end!
Organizational tools, such as day planners or wall calendars, are an amazing way to keep on top of important items in your life. Purchase day planners and write things down. Draw up a schedule and check it at regular intervals to see how you’re doing. Writing things down will help you remember. You don’t always have to depend on your memory for everything and your planner will reduce the stress about important dates and times.
Utilize all of your senses. You may have already heard that smell is a powerful sense in relation to your memory. This is true. When trying to recall something, don’t just look for a picture of it in your mind. Try to remember how it smelled or felt or even tasted.
To help a young child remember his home phone number, use a familiar tune and make up a song with the phone number. When the phone number is associated with the familiarity of the tune, the child will be able to recall the phone number a lot better. This method is useful for people of any age.
You need to make sure you focus on the information that you are trying to remember. If you are trying to remember a shopping list, try visualizing the items or write them down to jog your memory. Take your time to repeat information after you hear it so it has a chance of sticking with you.
Rehearse the information you need to memorize. You should not learn it by heart and recite it, but learn it, digest it and rephrase it. Every time you rehearse the information you need to remember, you are ingraining it into your long term memory. Use your own words to rephrase the information.
One way to improve your memory is by adding meditation to your daily routine. Meditating helps to relax your mind and body, which in turn can make it easier for your brain to recall memories. Set aside a specific time each day when you know you won’t be interrupted to close your eyes and meditate for as long as you would like.
Using your senses is a great way to help you remember things. This helps because it is as though you are experiencing these things and they stick in your mind. Authors also use this technique to make you feel more involved in their stories. The more senses involved in your memorizing, the more effective you will be.
Using the helpful information, ideas and advice that you have just read can help you to remember. Now put it to use and test yourself at work, home, or school by practicing a variety of new techniques that can help you to efficiently store information in your memory. You will find fulfillment when you now recall information easily and accurately at only a moment’s notice.
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You may have noticed that it has become increasingly hard to remember the words to songs that you knew by heart, sayings that you would quote without even thinking of it or random facts that were drilled into your head by your high school history teacher. Truth is, your memory may not be as great as it used to be. This article is designed to help you change that.
If you are having memory problems, try taking fish oil. Recent studies have shown a link between problems with concentration and memory and a deficiency in Omega-3 fatty acids. One of the best Omega-3 sources is fish oil. You can either take the oil in the liquid form by the spoonful, or opt for fish oil pills instead.
The health of your body has a direct impact on the health of your memory. The brain is an organ just like your heart or lungs. Activities that improve your physical well being will ensure that it functions at the highest level possible. Take care of yourself, rest, eat a healthy diet and exercise.
Help protect your memory for years to come by making sure you are getting plenty of vitamin B-12 in your diet. Studies have linked low levels of B-12 to dementia and poor cognitive function. Food sources rich in B-12 include liver, eggs, fish, poultry, meat and milk products. If you don’t eat a lot of meat, you may need to take a daily B-12 supplement to help prevent deficiency.
In order to improve your memory, it is important that you pay attention. Your mind will never learn how to memorize things if it is distracted by other things. For example, if you are studying or working, do so in a room with no television or other things that could attract you.
Drink more milk for healthy brain activity for life. Milk is a veritable treasure trove of B vitamins, potassium, magnesium and calcium that all have incredibly important functions for taking care of your brain. These vitamins and minerals do a great job in supporting the functions of your brain. The healthier the brain, the better the memory will be.
Eat more onions to improve your memory. A few studies have isolated fisetin to be of great benefit in improving the long term memory. You can find beneficial levels of fisetin in onions, strawberries, mangos and other plants. It also is a strong antioxidant so it will deliver other benefits to your body as well.
Break complex information down into smaller, more memorable pieces. This simple trick is regularly used to help people remember large numbers. For instance, your credit card numbers, phone number and social security number are all broken down into smaller, hyphenated sections to make them easier to remember. You can do the same thing with any complex data that you are trying to recall.
Pay attention when you want to memorize something. Clear your mind completely and focus on the subject and avoid outside distractions such as noises and images. Persons with focusing difficulties should find a silent, remote location to improve focusing and speeding up the memorization process. Use pleasant music to enhance your focusing.
If you are finding your memory is lacking it may be because of a lack of sleep. As such try getting more rest. Scientists believe that when we are asleep it is when our brain sorts through the events of our lives and files them away, like a librarian and a filing cabinet. They also believe this is why we dream.
Use mnemonic devices to improve your memory. A mnemonic device is any rhyme, joke, song, or phrase that triggers memory of another fact, such as the abbreviation Roy G Biv, which tells you the colors of the spectrum. The best mnemonic devices are those which use humor or positive imagery, as you will have an easier time remembering them.
Try to control the amount of stress in your daily life. Stress is one of the worst enemies for your brain. It destroys brain cells over time and hurts its ability to create new memories and retrieve old ones. Meditation is one of the ways that you can use to reduce the amount of stress in your life.
If you have trouble remembering words or names, try repeating them out loud. For instance, if you are introduced to a new person, repeat their name back to them by saying something like “Nice to meet you, Susan.” This simple tip will help to cement the word or name in your mind, so you can easily recall it when you need to.
A good tip if you’re struggling from memory loss is to consult with your doctor. If your memory loss is only getting worse, you need to see your doctor right away so they can run some tests on you. You shouldn’t feel embarrassed to ask for professional help.
To keep your brain functioning at its best, try taking fish oil supplements. Studies have shown that fish oil, which contains Omega-3 fatty acids, can really help your memory. Getting the right dosage is necessary, so make sure you get into contact with your physician before you start taking these supplements.
If you have a bad memory and you are on certain medications, you may want to get a pill organizer. This way, you will remember to take your medicine at the time you need to. Also, if you have forgotten whether you have taken your medication or not, you can always look at your pill organizer.
When working on memorizing material, study frequently over several short sessions. You will be able to think about how you can retain information. There is evidence to suggest that this particular method produces more effective memorization when compared with simply cramming information all at once.
Just because your memory isn’t what it once was doesn’t mean that it can’t be that again. Hopefully using this article, you can begin to take back the memory skills you once had and make even more of the skills you have now. Working with your memory is like working with any other part of your mind. Stick with it and you will soon see results.
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Everyone at one point or another complains about forgetting things. Our memories come into play every day of our lives. The better the memory you have, the more successful you can be in life. Below is a compilation of tips to help you develop and improve your memory.
If you find yourself having difficulty recalling information, take a deep breath and relax. Sometimes all you need is a bit more time to allow your memory to retrieve the information. Feeling pressed for time can result in stress that inhibits the recall process. Remember that the older you are, the longer it takes to retrieve information from the memory.
To improve your memory, try to focus your attention on something by removing anything that can distract you from the task at hand. When you spend time to focus, the item of focus moves from short-term memory to long-term memory. Distraction adversely affects focus, and that results in poor memory.
The health of your body has a direct impact on the health of your memory. The brain is an organ just like your heart or lungs. Activities that improve your physical well being will ensure that it functions at the highest level possible. Take care of yourself, rest, eat a healthy diet and exercise.
When trying to remember any type of information the key is repetition. The more something is repeated in your mind the more likely you are to keep it in your long term memory. For example, if you meet someone new, repeat their name in your head at least three times while looking at them.
Keep your memory fresh by removing stress. When you are feeling stressed about something it can be harder to pull up memorized data. Find ways to relax yourself before you have to rely on your memory for a task. Meditate for a bit on relaxing thoughts that will allow your brain to process the information you need to access.
In order to improve your memory, it is important that you pay attention. Your mind will never learn how to memorize things if it is distracted by other things. For example, if you are studying or working, do so in a room with no television or other things that could attract you.
Drink more milk for healthy brain activity for life. Milk is a veritable treasure trove of B vitamins, potassium, magnesium and calcium that all have incredibly important functions for taking care of your brain. These vitamins and minerals do a great job in supporting the functions of your brain. The healthier the brain, the better the memory will be.
It is important to get a sufficient amount of sleep if you are trying to improve your memory. Medical studies have shown that getting enough sleep every night can improve both short and long term memory. Your brain cannot absorb new information when your body has not gotten a lot of sleep.
Build consistent study times into your schedule. To build your long-term memory, you need to fight the urge to cram. Cramming information will place it in your short-term memory, and it will easily fall to the wayside once the information is used. To really commit something to your memory, develop daily sessions where you study it with real focus. Keep it consistent, and you will soon find the information is with you for the long haul!
Add a fish oil supplement to your diet to sharpen your memory and concentration. Omega-3, found in fish oil, is a necessary nutrient for memory, yet many of us do not get enough in our regular diet. Adding a supplement can improve overall health while also improving memory and concentration.
A good workout will exercise your body, but it can also exercise your mind. Exercising each day can help you out immensely with your efforts.
A great tip that can help you improve your memory is to make sure you’re getting enough sleep every night. Studies have shown that people who are sleep deprived tend to be very sluggish. All of their cognitive functions, including their memory, are compromised. Getting enough sleep is very important.
Improving your memory may be something as simple as going out for a jog or a bike ride. Recent studies have shown that aerobic exercises can actually cause the development of new neurons in the hippocampus of the brain, which is considered to be the memory store center of the brain.
A good tip to help improve your memory is to be more social. Studies have shown that our brains respond much better to socializing than if we were alone. People who socialize regularly will enjoy the benefit of a slower memory decline. Try being more social to improve your memory.
Keep your self organized. It is important that you don’t waste your time trying to remember simple things, like where you put your car keys. Just make sure to keep them in the same spot every day until it becomes habbit. Being organized will actually work to enhance your memory.
Teach others what you know. Sharing what you know can really help your memory. Even if you are not an expert on the subject, explain what you do know to a friend or family member. A combination of explaining and repeating the information aloud will help you in remembering it later.
If you have trouble with memory and focus, the problem may not be directly related to your brain. Physical exercise has been shown to improve brain function significantly. Do half an hour to an hour of exercise per day and see if that doesn’t clear up any problems with a foggy brain.
Your brain is a muscle like any other and it requires exercise to keep it healthy and in optimum working order. Make sure that you incorporate the advice given here to start working out your brain and improving your memory abilities. Being “forgetful” isn’t a life sentence and you are able to make a change for the better.
The post Hold Onto Your Memories As Long As You Can With This Help appeared first on Home Living Aid.
Muscle building is good for your body. It can make you look better, feel strong and keep you in great shape for many years. In time, you might even enjoy weightlifting. Read on to learn some tips and tricks for getting impressive results from your muscle-building routine.
Vegetables offer many benefits when you are building muscle. Diets that are designed to promote muscle growth typically emphasize protein and complex carbs while placing much less importance on vegetables. There are plenty of healthy nutrients in vegetables that are not included in foods rich in carbohydrates and proteins. You will also get a lot of fibers from vegetables. Fiber enables your body to more effectively utilize the protein.
Eat a lot of protein. It’s a well known fact that the more protein your body can store, the more muscle you can build. Try to have at least one gram of the protein you need for every pound that you weigh. For instance, a 150 pound woman should attempt to eat approximately 150 grams, meat and other protein, every day.
Don’t forget about life outside the gym. While muscle building is a great goal with plenty of benefits, remember that life goes on. Some who try to build muscle seem to forget about other activities; make time for friends and relatives. Even better, invite some of them to the gym with you. A well-rounded life is a happy life, and you will feel better about building muscle if the rest of your life is in place.
Make sure to get an ample amount of sleep each night. Your muscles need time to repair themselves after you strain them during weight lifting sessions. If you do not allow the muscles to rest enough, it can lessen the results that you see from your weight lifting efforts dramatically.
Change up your workouts. Research has proven that varying your reps, intensity, and exercises are the best combination for increasing muscle mass. Our bodies are very good at adapting to exercises, and they have to be shocked by changing up the exercises in order to achieve the most optimum growth.
If you choose to take any supplements to aide in your muscle building routine, do so cautiously. Many supplements are a complete waste of money, and some can even be harmful to your health. Discuss any of your supplement plans with your physician or a licensed dietician to make sure that you are not harming your body.
When you first start working out, do not try increasing the weight you are lifting. Instead, work on improving your stamina by doing longer sets or simply more sets. Once working out becomes easier, you can start adding weight or trying harder exercises to keep your routine interesting and challenging.
Perform your lifting regimen every other day. After a vigorous workout, the protein synthesis process can take up to 48 hours to complete. In other words, your body builds muscle for up to two-day post-workout, and working out while your body is still recovering may undo your hard work. Enjoy the day of rest–it will help to maximize your results.
If you are just starting to get in shape, you should not work out more than twice a week. This will give enough time for your muscles to heal and expand. As you get more experienced, add a third session every week. You should not train more than three days a week unless you become a professional bodybuilder.
Utilize giant sets on occasion. A giant set is when you do at least four exercises for a single muscle group simultaneously without resting. Do one or two of these giant sets in order to shock a muscle into growing. For your smaller muscles, which include your shoulders, biceps, and trips, a single giant set is adequate in order to achieve a complete workout.
Try staggering sets of muscle building exercises. This method is excellent for smaller muscle groups, which include forearms and calves, that are lacking. Staggered sets involve performing extra sets of these smaller muscle groups while resting in between doing sets of your larger muscle groups. An example of this is doing standing calf raises in between bench presses.
Doing a workout on your own is generally not recommended. There are several benefits to having a workout buddy including having a spotter, staying motivated, and most important avoiding boredom. This can be a prior friend, or it can even be someone that you have meet at the gym itself!
Mental preparedness is important when trying to build muscle. Before you begin any workout, it is important for you to be sure you are in the proper mental state to be able to workout. Injuries occur when someone is not focusing on the workout they are doing. Focus is crucial when working out.
Complete those exercises that work more than one muscle group first, and then work on the ones that require the use of an isolated muscle. Doing this will allow you to complete the exercises that use the most energy first, while you are still feeling fresh and energetic. You will complete a more effective workout and put focus on working your entire body, rather than just one muscle group.
To build muscle efficiently, you must eat a healthy diet. Rebuilding muscle fibers involves consuming the proper amounts of certain nutrients. Studies have shown that drinking a protein shake after your workout can help your body rebuild your muscles.
You should keep track of your progress. Weigh yourself regularly or measure your arms for instance. This will help you find out if you are working out efficiently and you will be able to set realistic goals for yourself. You should aim for a steady development of your muscles based on your previous progress.
In this article, the focus has been muscle building and how you can implement it into your daily routine. Building muscle can increase your confidence and provide excellent benefits for your body. Using the tips offered here, you are well on your way to having the physique you dream of.
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The right advice can be priceless in helping you build muscles. Keep in mind there is much information to learn about building muscles, and that you want to learn as much as you can about the subject. Take time and read each tip to absorb all the information provided for you.
Obtaining a workout partner can drastically improve your muscle-building results. Your partner can be a valuable source of motivation for sticking to your workout session, and pushing you to maximize your efforts while you work out. Having a reliable partner to work out with can also help keep you safe because you will always have a spotter.
Aim for a high number of reps with medium-intensity weight when you train. For each individual exercise you do, try to do a set of 10 to 15 reps, resting less than one minute in between each set. This causes lactic acid to build up in your muscles, which makes you “feel the burn” while stimulating growth.
After muscle building workout sessions, be sure to rest well. Many people fail to do this after their workouts, which can be detrimental to their building larger muscle mass. It is when you are resting that your body grows and repairs itself. If you fail to rest after muscle building workouts, or you cut the rest period short, this over training can prevent your body from becoming larger. As you can see, it is important to refrain from cutting back on rest periods that your body needs.
When attempting to put on muscle, you’ll have to ensure you are consuming enough calories. You ideally want to consume what it takes to increase your weight by a weekly pound. Look into ways you can take in more calories. If you don’t see any changes in your weight within two weeks, try consuming an even higher amount of calories.
Muscle growth can be achieved by eating meat. A good daily goal is to eat a gram of meat for each pound you weigh. This allows your body to store protein, giving your muscles the ability to develop more fully.
Crank up some music. Research has shown that listening to music you love while you are lifting can help you do more reps than not listening to any music at all or not listening to the music that you like. In addition, having headphones can help distract you from having a conversation with others that will defer your workout.
Prepare your body for your weight training. You must consume about twenty grams of protein thirty minutes prior to your session. This will amplify the muscle building that takes place as you lift. This is a simple as drinking a couple of glasses of cold milk before you weight train, as well as after.
Before you workout, drink a shake that is filled with amino acids along with carbohydrates and protein. This will increase the way your body deals with protein, and will help you get the look that you are craving. Anytime, you are consuming a liquid meal; your body will absorb it faster than eating a regular meal.
For quick muscle building, you need to push your muscles to grow. Believe it or not, if you do not push your muscles to increase in size, they won’t. By using the overloading principle, you can push your muscles into growing faster. If you are not familiar with the overload principle, it means you need to work out with weights that are greater than your muscles can comfortably handle.
Spread your workouts out so that you are only lifting weights every other day. Spend one day working out your entire body, and then use the next day to rest. Your muscles will grow while you rest, not while you are working out. Even though it might feel like you are doing nothing on your days off, your body is still working hard.
Avoid comparing yourself to others at the gym. It can be useful to watch other people to see their form, new exercises, or new types of equipment, but direct comparison is not helpful. This is because everyone has a different body type; what works for you may not work for others.
Find an appropriate limit for yourself, but never quit until you reach the limit you set. When you plan your routine, you want the final set to take you to exhaustion. If you must, lower your set length.
If bulking up is appealing to you, then concentrate on squatting, dead lifting and bench presses. Adding these to your routine will help you reach your goals quickly. You can add more exercises to your workout regimen, but those three exercises should make up the core of it.
Keep protein going into your body both before and after a workout for maximum muscle building effects. About half an hour to an hour before working out, make sure to consume a good 20 grams of protein. This can easily be accommodated with a couple of glasses of milk or protein shake. Do the same an hour after your work out also, and you will enhance your muscle-building efforts!
When building muscle, many people make the mistake of over training. When you go to the gym, exercise as hard as possible and take short breaks. Do not do your workouts for more than 60 minutes for best results. Go in, workout, and get out to give your muscles time to recover.
If you desire to build muscle, one of the most important things to consider is a pre-workout meal. This meal should be filled with protein and carbohydrates, which will give you the energy that you need for your workout. Also, foods that contain these nutrients can help to convert fat to muscle as you lift weights.
Use the information you’ve learned here to see results from your muscle building efforts. Keep your strength of willpower high, and stay dedicated to achieve the body condition you are aiming for. It may not happen immediately, but with consistent effort and the diligent application of the advice in this article, you will gain the muscle strength and bulk that you strive for.
The post Easy To Understand Tips And Advice About Muscle Building appeared first on Home Living Aid.
Muscle building can be used to achieve health and strength or to attain a Hollywood physique. What ever the motivations for your interest in body building, you will need to learn how to do it properly for maximum benefit of your time and efforts. Keep reading for expert advice on how to go about muscle building the right way.
Obtaining a workout partner can drastically improve your muscle-building results. Your partner can be a valuable source of motivation for sticking to your workout session, and pushing you to maximize your efforts while you work out. Having a reliable partner to work out with can also help keep you safe because you will always have a spotter.
As you are lifting weights, do your movements slowly. Moving too fast uses the body’s momentum instead of letting the muscles do the work. Likewise, don’t swing the weights, because this keeps the isolated muscle from doing the work. This is why going slow seems harder. The isolated muscle is doing its work!
If you would like to build muscle mass and have larger muscles, you need to focus on three basic exercises that will build mass, increase conditioning, and increase strength. These exercises are the squat, bench press, and deadlift. These are critical in your weight-training routine in some form or another.
Try doing real stairs instead of the stairs that your gym has. This can help change the perspective that you have for working out, give you an additional amount of motivation, burn more fat, and build more muscle. The additional scenery could also help you workout for a longer period of time.
Prepare your body for your weight training. You must consume about twenty grams of protein thirty minutes prior to your session. This will amplify the muscle building that takes place as you lift. This is a simple as drinking a couple of glasses of cold milk before you weight train, as well as after.
Consuming a sufficient amount of protein is a key factor in building muscle. In general, for every pound that you weigh, you should aim to consume about one gram of protein. For example, if you weigh 140 pounds, you should try to have 140 grams of protein in your diet. Meat, dairy and fish are excellent sources of protein.
You should try to make use of chains and bands in your weight workouts. These things add a type of resistance that is referred to as LVRT. This gives you a greater amount of tension because your range of motion is increasing in a single movement, which can lead to more muscle growth.
Pay attention to your body fat and measure it on a regular basis. Try not to be discouraged if there is not significant weight loss when building muscle, because your weight might not change much using a weight and muscle building routine. Your body fat is a better measure of your overall health as opposed to weight.
Try the farmer’s walk in order to make your cardio exercise a more productive part of your muscle-building workouts. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides and keep your abdominal muscles sucked in tight while you walk. Start off with a ten-minute walk, and aim to increase this to 20 minutes as you practice.
A good muscle building program will increase your strength. This will result in your ability to lift weights that are heavier. So, if you are a beginner, every couple of workouts should see you lifting approximately 5% more weight. If you have not been achieving your goals, then take a closer look to see if there is something you are doing wrong. If you find that you are weaker than your last session, it is possible that you were not fully recovered.
Watch your form when you are working out. Maintaining poor form is the surest way to harm your body, meaning that you have to take time off from your exercise routine and have no chance of seeing the results that you are looking for. Talk to a trainer if you are not sure about your form, and make sure that you get it right before you even begin doing repetitions.
You can keep your workouts fresh and bolster your motivation levels by changing up your routine from time to time. Keep in mind that a new routine will need a little trial-and-error time in order to fine tune its performance. Designing an effective routine is serious business. So, don’t rebuild your whole routine more than three or four times a year.
Never forget a pre-workout stretch. Stretching is essential to warming up your muscles and preventing injury, and stretching exercises post-workout can help your muscles relax as they enter the recovery phase. Getting a massage every once in a while can also help with relaxation and muscle recovery, therefore helping your muscles get stronger as well.
Short terms goals are important, but make sure they are realistic. While you may hope to squat 300 pounds just a month after you start working out, this is not a feasible goal, and it’s one that could cause you to injure yourself. Once you learn what you can lift in the beginning, set reachable goals for the future. Sometimes you might even surprise yourself and reach your short-term goals faster than you thought possible. Use this as encouragement to keep working out.
Having a spotter when lifting weights is important. You want to be able to lift the weights until your body physically cannot lift them anymore. A spotter will be able to help you lift the weight the final lift and put it back on the rack with you rather than you trying to do it yourself.
Hopefully this article has provided you with all the tips and tricks you need to attack your routine with 100% effort. Incorporate this advice into your workout and you should see remarkable results in the strength and tone of your muscles soon. With sufficient dedication and time, you will achieve all the amazing results you are looking for!
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Nutrition is one of the biggest issues when it comes to a dysfunctional body. Are you feeling sluggish, sad, irritable or weak? Does your hair break or do you have itchy skin and ridges in your nails? Chances are high that you are not taking care of yourself and ingesting the proper amount of vitamins and minerals! Poor nutrition is the number one reason why your body might be having a tough time functioning properly and can lead to serious health problems!
Watch your cholesterol intake. Cholesterol affects your metabolic rate which affects how fast or slow your body breaks down food. Having too high cholesterol can cause heart disease, heart attacks or even strokes. Aside from making sure you have a healthy diet with low cholesterol, make sure you see a physician if you are concerned with your levels.
When considering a diet that provides an adequate nutrition level, be sure to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. This will ensure that you keep your risk level low for low blood pressure, as well as, some cancers. Different types of fruits and vegetables contain different nutrients and this is why it is best to spread your choices among them. Generally, darker leafy vegetables, such as spinach or any that are deep and bright in color, such as peppers, have a high nutritional content.
When making your plates of food, be sure to use a very small plate. The small plate will be full so it will trick the brain into believing that you are consuming more food than you actually are. This means that you will feel full after consuming less food.
A great tip for healthier living is to make sure you visit your doctor for a checkup on an annual basis. We all hate going to the doctor, but this is vital to make sure you stay in the best health as you possibly can. If there is something wrong, you will be glad you went.
Monitoring the amount of trans fats you consume is paramount for a nutritionally sound diet. Trans fats are very difficult for your body to process and easily lead to heart problems, weight gain and other negative side effects. You can find the amount of trans fats in your food easily by checking the nutrition label.
Avoid diets that require you to ingest higher amounts of fat, even if we’re speaking about good fats. The reason here is that ingesting fat can be habit forming, and after a while your cholesterol levels will start to increase, and although thinner, you may be at higher risk for heart disease.
Moderate your alcohol intake. Sugary calories, which are abundant in alcoholic drinks, are easily converted to fat stored in your body. Also, when there is alcohol in your body, it causes your liver to work overtime to process it and burn fat. Excess alcohol intake can cause many threatening health conditions.
If you are out at a supermarket, do not buy junk food. If you have junk food lying around the house, there is a good chance that you will eventually consume it. Not purchasing this food in the first place is the best way that you can prevent this from happening.
You can boost your chance for conception with some super foods like oysters, yams and berries. Oysters are a concentrated source of the zinc, which is important for conception. Research has suggested that yams may stimulate ovulation. Berries contain antioxidants, which can protect the body from cell damage, including the cells in your reproductive system.
Increase the amount of fruits you’re eating by making a breakfast smoothie. Throw some low fat yogurt, fresh frozen fruit of your choosing, a banana and some milk into the blender. Blend until smooth and enjoy! You can hide all kids of healthy ingredients in a smoothie that you won’t be able to taste at all.
You need to eat regularly and eat a substantial amount of calories at each meal or snack, in order to keep your blood sugar and your insulin levels balanced. Not eating enough can cause these levels to crash, lowering your energy levels and your metabolism. This will actually cause you to gain weight even though you aren’t eating very much.
Keep a close count of your daily caloric intakes. Get educated about what the caloric requirements are for you personally. Take this into consideration as you plan your meals throughout the day. Consider eating five to six mini meals a day instead of the traditional three. This will help you to maintain a healthy weight.
Always make sure that you are aware of the nutritional information for what you are eating. Even if you are deciding to give yourself a treat like a chocolate bar, don’t avoid looking at the information. The calories may be quite high, but you still should know exactly what you are putting into your body at all times.
Limit the consumption of meats. There is never the need to eat a steak that is larger than eight ounces. It is too hard for your body to digest and will end up being more toxic than nutritional. Stick with meats that are white and choose a meal that includes three to six ounces of the white meats.
In order to ensure you are maintaining good nutrition, it is important to eliminate trans fat and high fat products. In addition, eating a diet which is high in fiber, fruits, vegetables and lean proteins is recommended for those interested in maintaining a lean physique. Staying disciplined in a high fiber, lean protein diet is key to maintaining good nutrition.
In order to have a happy, healthy body you must take care of it! A multivitamin is an easy way to jump start a healthy diet. Once a routine is established you can begin to work on other ways to get a better diet going on top of the vitamins. Proper nutrition is important and should be a priority for your entire life and is not difficult to achieve.
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Some people have the wrong idea about what proper nutrition is. Sure, eating right has a lot to do with balancing your overall nutrition, but there is a lot more that goes into proper nutrition than simply a few fruits and vegetables mixed in with your diet. This article will explain some great nutrition tips you can use.
Smoothies are a great diet drink that can also act as a meal or desert. All you need to make it is a blender, along with any ingredients necessary for the smoothie of your choice. Fresh fruit, yogurt, and milk are the main ingredients and all of those are exceptionally healthy foods.
When you are on a diet, remember that healthy eating starts with what you buy. Your cart at the grocery store should be balanced the same way you balance your meals. This means making about half your purchases in produce, a quarter in grains, and the final quarter in lean protein sources. This way, the healthy options are always available when you get hungry.
Even artificial sweeteners can raise your blood sugar and insulin levels in much the same way as sugar. Although they may be lower in calories, they are not necessarily any more healthy. Instead change on how much you depend on sweet things. Start by cutting your sugars in half and work you way to not needing them at all.
Have a doctor check your blood for levels of various minerals and vitamins in your blood stream. Ask for a complete check. That way, if you find you are deficient in any one thing, or a few things, you can immediately start taking steps to change your diet so you stay well and healthy.
In the grocery store, shop the outer areas and try to avoid the inner aisles. The outer walls of the grocery store is where the good stuff is. Fruits and veggies, fresh meat, fish, bread and dairy are all usually located on the outer aisles and areas. The inner aisles are usually full of preprocessed foods that can tempt you off course like cookies, chips, pastas, and others. Stay away from them to keep your shopping in line.
A great nutrition tip when you are trying to gain muscle is to make sure you’re eating enough calories. You need to determine how many calories it requires to maintain your weight and then you must eat a bit more than that, in order to gain muscle.
As advertised, eggs are most certainly incredible and edible, so never forget to use them in a diet. Egg whites contain zero fat, very few calories and they pack a powerful punch of protein. They also act as a great vessel for other ingredients and as a great carrier of flavor. Best of all, eggs are really cheap at every grocery store in the land.
A good nutritional tip is to be consistent with the timing of when you serve your child meals. Ideally, you’ll want to serve them meals around the same time everyday. It’s also a good idea to limit fruit drinks and soda to only meals because they can easily fill up on them.
If you are a vegetarian, make sure your nutrition choices are well-rounded. While many omnivores miss essential vitamins in their diet, it’s easier to recover lost minerals. That said, it’s easy to keep on top of a vegetarian diet. If you find yourself hitting roadblocks, consider seeing a nutritionist.
Cook up several whole potatoes and stuff them to have later as a quick meal. Potatoes keep great after being baked or even boiled. Just stick them in your fridge and when you are ready for a quick meal, slice them open, add some low-fat cheese and maybe some beans or broccoli, and warm everything in the microwave.
Most people do not eat enough zinc on a daily basis. It is vital for the functioning of many important enzymes in the human body, as well as, being necessary for healthy male reproductive health. It can be found in such foods as wheat, beans, nuts and other seeds. It is better to eat zinc in food rather than using supplements.
Don’t judge your food by looks alone. Just because a food is found in the nutrition aisle, doesn’t mean it’s always healthy. Make a habit of checking labels, so you can ensure your nutrition choices are spot-on. This is doubly important for people who need to avoid allergens. Learn to spot hidden ingredients and you can avoid disasters.
Be sure to drink lots of water each day. You should be drinking around 8 glasses that are about 8 ounces full of water, or about 2 liters of water. Water not only flushes out impurities from the body, but also prevents you from eating when feeling hungry, lessening your chances of eating fatty sugary snacks.
Balance your daily diet against your body’s composition. If you use a body fat scale, you can see what percentage of your weight is fat, muscle, and water. For optimum health, you want to keep a low body fat percentage. If yours is high, reduce the amount of fat in your diet. If your muscle mass percentage is high, consider increasing the amount of protein in your diet, to feed that muscle.
Be smart when consuming a salad. Many people increase their salad intake, especially during the summer months. While salads are a very healthy food to consume, they can also harbor hidden fats. Salad dressings, fried meats, and croutons are less nutritionally valuable, but often added to salads. Be mindful of what your salad contains to best meet your nutritional needs.
Do some of your meal prep ahead of time so that making nutritious meals won’t seem like such a chore. You can prepare fresh vegetables in advance for cooking by washing and trimming them and then wrapping them in paper toweling and popping them into a plastic bag in the refrigerator to stay fresh for a day or more. Then they will be ready to go when you are ready to cook.
Make sure you’re not approaching nutrition without a proper understanding of the topic in general. Assuming you know how to eat right can end up causing some issues. Always be a student of nutrition and remember to use the tips provided here to get on and stay on the right track.
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Eating right is going to do a great deal more for your body than just provide the nourishment to live. It is going to make you feel better, look better and be more motivated to do the things in your life that you would not have the energy for without doing it.
Be aware of what chemicals are in your food. This is generally why it’s best to stick to natural food like natural produce and fresh proteins and natural grain options. You should avoid these like you would anything else hazardous because they can slow down your metabolic rate and harm your diet.
Include more vegetables in your diet for proper nutrition. Vegetables are low in fat and have many important vitamins and minerals. They are also high in fiber, which is important in regulating your digestive system and preventing constipation. Another benefit is that many vegetables require a lot of energy to digest, which means you can burn a lot of calories by just eating more vegetables.
Sometimes it is better to add things to your diet rather than remove them. If you absolutely do not have the willpower to replace all those unhealthy snack foods you eat with fruits and vegetables, eat the fruits and vegetables anyway. Slowly begin to phase the snack foods out when you feel you can.
One great way to live healthier is to eat nuts. Nuts have been proven to be very good for the heart. Nuts have monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats that are great for the heart. Nuts also have other nutrients such as fiber and vitamin E that can lower your risk of heart disease.
You can concoct fruit smoothies on your own at home. Beware of smoothies from fast food places which are packed with extra sugar and short on real fruit. By making your own, you can control its nutrition. It can fit into your diet easier, too. For a healthy smoothie, use fresh fruit, bananas, Greek yogurt, and skim milk.
Most of us have a “sweet tooth” that needs to be satisfied. How we satisfy it, has great importance for our health. Refined sugars, which is found in many processed foods, ,are detrimental to our health. Vegetables such as carrots, beets and winter squash are naturally high in sugar and are healthy. For the intense sweet taste that we sometimes crave, honey and maple syrup are recommended.
Though refined carbohydrates such as white bread and white/table sugar may taste good, they are far less nutritious than unrefined carbohydrates such as whole wheat bread and brown/raw sugar. You should avoid refined carbohydrates whenever possible, or at the very least balance your diet between refined and unrefined carbohydrates. Unrefined carbohydrates make your body consume energy to process them, keeping your metabolism up and allowing a sustained level of energy rather than a drastic spike up and then down as is the case with refined carbohydrates.
Quinoa is a tremendously healthy whole grain, one of the healthiest. It has more complete protein than any other grain, although it is really a seed. Eating quinoa is a great way to get a dose of B vitamins, iron and potassium. You can use this healthy grain as an alternative to rice.
In order to keep the body healthy, it is important to keep track of the calories taken throughout the day. Drinking beverages high in calories such as soda and coffee should be avoided. These beverages can add up to lots of calories in a year and can mess up the body’s metabolism.
One way to improve the nutritional content of your diet is to make use of artificial sweeteners in place of refined sugar. Too much sugar causes many health problems, including dangerous heart disorders. A sweetener like Stevia or Splenda makes a great substitute when used in cooking or added directly to food. You will not be able to tell the difference.
A great nutritional tip is to make sure you’re eating enough carbohydrates. A lot of fad diets vilify carbohydrates and advise that you should cut down on them. Carbohydrates are very important to our bodies because without them, our thinking becomes impaired and we won’t have much energy.
Vegetables are one of the cornerstones of proper nutrition. To be sure that your daily vitamin and nutrient requirements are met, eat a wide variety of vegetables in as many colors as you can throughout the day. For instance, try eating green broccoli, red peppers and orange carrots to vary the types of vitamins that your body is getting. Aim for eating at least three servings of vegetables each day.
To make it easier to get the most out of your pregnancy nutrition, start with small changes, like trading those sugary cereals for healthy whole grain cereals. Whole grains provide good carbohydrates to give you the energy you need. Make sure you read the package to see if the words “whole grain” are listed.
Most fast foods are laden with fat and salt. If you cut them out of your diet you should stop craving them so much after a couple of weeks. This is because your body will become accustomed to tasting natural salt in foods and these would then be much too salty for you to eat.
Eat lots of vegetables every day. Your Caesar salad, the lettuce leaf on your hamburger or the carrot you chew as a snack – all count. Definitely include dark green leaf vegetables and legumes, as they are excellent sources of different vitamins and minerals. Go easy with dressings, toppings, butter and mayonnaise because they have a high fat content.
To satisfy the need for protein that is part of a healthy diet, the best option is small portions of lean meat. Protein provides lots of energy and reduces cravings for less healthy foods. It can be difficult to find protein in foods that do not also have unhealthy components. The leaner the meat the better, in order to avoid unwanted fats.
The proper nourishment in your body is going to really benefit you for many years. It will keep you more youthful looking and energetic. Use the information that you learned from this article to find a balanced diet that is going to help you feel and look great for many years.
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