Fifty Plus Advocates

By Al Norman In July of 2005, then Gov. Mitt Romney filed health care legislation on Beacon Hill that eventually was signed into law, making the Commonwealth the first state in the nation to pass healthcare reform that requires all individuals (with some exemptions) to purchase health insurance coverage. When he filed the bill, Romney [...]

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By Al Norman For the sixth year in a row, in Gov. Deval Patrick’s annual report to citizens he has said little or nothing about his vision of how to improve the lot of older and disabled individuals living in the Commonwealth. Since his first inaugural address in January of 2007, the governor has barely [...]

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By Al Norman I think Congress has it totally wrong on the issue of the Social Security payroll tax. The House and the Senate both passed bills extending the so-called “payroll tax holiday,” which was a misguided idea in the first place. In 2010, workers paid 6.2 percent of their earnings as a Social Security [...]

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By Al Norman Last July, I wrote about a new state law that was supposed to help get unsafe drivers off the road. But will it work? Gov. Deval Patrick signed into law Chapter 155 of the Acts of 2010, under which, if you are 75 years of age or older and applying for a [...]

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By Al Norman After two straight years with a 0 percent Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA), the recently announced 3.6 percent Social Security COLA must have looked pretty good to retirees. But this is one of those cases of “been down so long it looks like up to me.” On Oct. 19, the [...]

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By Al Norman In the movie Oklahoma, the farmer and the cowman were encouraged to be friends: “One man likes to push a plough, the other likes to chase a cow. But that’s no reason why they cain’t be friends.” The same advice should apply to people in the health care system, and their elderly [...]

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