As the Senate Co-Chair of the Congressional Alzheimer’s Task Force, the Senator is particularly committed to putting an end to Alzheimer’s disease, which has had such a devastating effect on 5.2 million Americans and their families.
To visit the Senate Special Committee on Aging’s website, click here.
September 22, 2016, marked the first day of the fall season, a time to enjoy Maine’s beautiful foliage and crisp weather. It also was National Falls Prevention Day, a time to better educate seniors, families, and caregivers – as well as government and civic organizations – about the practices, programs, and policies that can be taken to reduce the risk of falls.
Improvements will make it easier for small businesses to offer retirement plans, help address nation’s $7.7 trillion retirement savings gap
When employees have access to retirement plans, approximately 80 percent contribute
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) introduced a Senate resolution celebrating "National Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week.” The resolution recognizes the hard work of direct support professionals during the week of September 12th.
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Claire McCaskill, who together lead the Senate Aging Committee, today requested additional information from the government concerning the recently announced settlement with Wells Fargo, and whether it disproportionately affected America’s seniors. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently determined that Wells Fargo employees had illegally opened millions of accounts that consumers had never requested in order to boost individual performance goals and bonuses.
A few weeks ago, Westbrook resident Cathy Wiles called my Portland Constituent Service Center to alert me to a new Social Security Administration (SSA) policy that could have prevented seniors from accessing their online “my Social Security” accounts. The change, which was scheduled to take effect on August 1st, would have made text messaging the only means of verifying individuals’ identities and guaranteeing access to their accounts online.
WASHINGTON, D.C.— In response to the skyrocketing price of EpiPen® and news reports that this price increase is limiting patient access to this life saving anecdote for allergic reactions, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Claire McCaskill, the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Aging Committee, sent a letter to Heather Bresch, the CEO of Mylan, to request answers and information about the company's drastic price increase of EpiPen® by 480% since 2008.
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Claire McCaskill, the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Aging Committee, sent a letter to the Social Security Administration (SSA) today urging immediate action to ensure all seniors have safe and speedy access to their Social Security accounts.
BANGOR, Maine – U.S. Senator Susan Collins and Congressman Bruce Poliquin spoke in Bangor today about the Senior $afe Act, legislation authored by Senator Collins that would implement innovative financial protections for seniors in Maine and across the country. Representative Poliquin introduced a companion bill in the House. The event, held at Bangor Savings Bank G.
WASHINGTON – Following efforts from U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Claire McCaskill, the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Aging Committee, seniors will once again be able to access their Social Security accounts online without needing to have a cell phone. Senators Collins and McCaskill sent a letter to the Social Security Administration (SSA) last week urging immediate action to roll back a new policy that required text message authentication for seniors to access their “my Social Security” account online.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) today announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed covering new care planning sessions under Medicare for Alzheimer’s patients and their families to provide an early assessment of the disease and possible treatment options.
For most Americans, tax season ends on April 15. For the con artists operating the pernicious IRS impersonation scam, cheating honest taxpayers is a year-round job.
In this scam, fraudsters telephone victims, impersonate an IRS agent, and demand payment for allegedly unpaid taxes. The callers frequently threaten victims with arrest, foreclosure, or other adverse legal action. Scammers often instruct their victims to pay using a money wire or prepaid debit card.
Click HERE to watch Senator Collins’ floor statement
“The goal is not a good death. Instead, the goal is to have as good a life as possible all the way to the very end.” That was the message Dr. Atul Gawande, surgeon and author of the New York Times best-selling book, Being Mortal, delivered at a recent Senate Aging Committee hearing that I chaired. Our hearing explored ways to not only expand, but also to improve, the care provided to the approximately 90 million Americans who are living with a serious, often life threatening, illness.
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) have introduced legislation to expand training and support services for families and caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. More than five million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease, and by 2050 that number is expected to grow to 14 million.
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Susan Collins, the Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, is warning of a new variation of the pernicious IRS impersonation scam. According to the U.S. Treasury Inspection General for Tax Administration, iTunes and other gift cards are now the primary form of payment demanded by con artists pretending to be IRS agents.
One week ago, J. Bryon Martin, a 77-year-old former pastor from Dresden, Maine, was serving the first year of a six-year sentence in a Spanish prison. With failing health, Mr. Martin faced the prospect of spending the rest of his life incarcerated, thousands of miles from his home and loved ones. His crime? Mr. Martin was the victim of a scam that tricked him into unknowingly transporting illegal drugs across an international border.
U.S. Senator Susan Collins, the Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, visited the Southern Maine Agency on Aging’s Sam L. Cohen Adult Day Center in Biddeford today.
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bipartisan resolution introduced by U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), the Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a Member of the Committee, declaring June 15, 2016, as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. The resolution calls attention to the problem of elder abuse around the nation, and honors all those that fight for justice for victims. U.S.
Washington, D.C.— U.S. Senator Susan Collins, the Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, announced that J. Bryon Martin, a 77-year-old former pastor from Dresden, Maine, who was incarcerated abroad after falling victim to an international drug smuggling scam, was released from a Spanish prison and has been reunited with his family in the United States. Yesterday afternoon, Senator Collins called Mr. Martin to welcome him home.
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Susan Collins, the Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, announced today that as a result of a lead reported to the Committee’s Fraud Hotline, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has arrested five individuals connected with the IRS impersonation scam. Two individuals were identified as a direct result of the crucial information provided by a fraud investigator with the Aging Committee’s Hotline.
Berna Heyman, a retired college librarian from Williamsburg, Virginia, has Wilson disease, an inherited disorder that prevents copper from being excreted from the body, allowing dangerous accumulations. Untreated, it can cause serious liver, brain, and eye problems and even lead to death. Treated, the individual can live a normal life.
There are, however, very few medicines that can treat Wilson disease. The main drugs are Syprine and Cuprimine.
When I was back home in Maine recently, I saw an 88-year-old woman taking care of her 90-year-old husband with Alzheimer’s. I also spoke with a woman in her 50s who, with her sisters, is juggling their busy work schedules with the care of their mother who has Alzheimer’s. And I talked to a man trying to cope with his wife’s dementia as well as his own health problems.
U.S. Senator Susan Collins, the Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee and Co-Chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease, and Senator Claire McCaskill, the Ranking Member of the Senate Aging Committee, held a hearing today on the importance of Alzheimer’s research and the need to support family caregivers. The hearing, titled, “Finding a Cure: Assessing Progress Toward the Goal of Ending Alzheimer’s by 2025,” examined the progress made in combating Alzheimer’s disease since the enactment of the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA) in 2011 and assessed the next steps needed to achieve the ultimate objective of finding a means to treat, cure, and—ultimately—prevent Alzheimer’s.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senate Aging Committee Chairman Susan Collins and Ranking Member Claire McCaskill will hold the third hearing in a series the Committee is conducting to investigate the sudden, aggressive price spikes of decades-old Rx drugs on
U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, were joined by seven other Committee members in urging Secretary of State John Kerry to work with foreign governments to reexamine cases involving at least 30 American seniors, including J. Bryon Martin, a retired pastor from Maine, who have been imprisoned as a result of a drug smuggling scam unveiled by the Committee and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last month.
Bipartisan legislation stems from ongoing Aging Committee investigation into the causes, impacts, and potential solutions to these egregious price spikes
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee and Chairman of the Aging Committee, emphasized to Attorney General Loretta Lynch the importance of developing a more robust response to the IRS impersonation phone scam at an Appropriations Committee hearing this morning. During the hearing, Senator Collins showcased the Aging Committee’s comprehensive guide on the top 10 scams targeting seniors, which found that the IRS impersonation phone scam is the #1 most prevalent fraud.
© Senator Susan Collins | Privacy
