Enews Signup Push

Seniors

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

Social Security and Medicare Protection Act

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

An Accurate Cost-of-Living Adjustment For Seniors 

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

Access to Affordable Life-Saving Medication

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

Protecting and Strengthening Medicare

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

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

  • Office Locations

    Office Name Location Image Map URL
    Washington DC 2332 Rayburn House Office Bldg.
    Washington, DC 20515
    Phone: (202) 225-2301
    Fax: (202) 225-1844
    http://goo.gl/maps/mskhT
    Mt. Lebanon Office
    504 Washington Road
    Pittsburgh, PA 15228
    Phone: (412) 344-5583
    Fax: (412) 429-5092
    http://goo.gl/maps/wSZBo
    Greensburg Office
    2040 Frederickson Place
    Greensburg, PA 15601
    Phone: (724) 850-7312
    Fax: (724) 850-7315
    http://goo.gl/maps/sR2hU
           
           
  • HIDDEN_WEBSITE_VARIABLES

    How to use: Insert <span class="EXACT_VALUE_LABEL_AS_ENTERED_BELOW">&nbsp;</span> where you'd like the value to be populated.

    Non-breaking space within span tags - &nbsp; - is required for WYSIWYG.

    Label
    (no spaces or special characters)

    Value

    Comments (optional)
    repName Tim Murphy  
    helpWithFedAgencyAddress District Office
    504 Washington Road
    Pittsburgh, PA 15228
     
    district 18th District of Pennsylvania  
    academyUSCitizenDate July 1, 2012  
    academyAgeDate July 1, 2012  
    academyApplicationDueDate October 20, 2012  
    repStateABBR PA  
    repDistrict 18  
    repState Pennsylvania  
    repDistrictText 18th  
    repPhoto  
    SponsoredBills Sponsored Bills  
    CoSponsoredBills Co-Sponsored Bills