Social Security Administration Starts Issuing Retroactive Payments
The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced on February 25 that retroactive benefits payments have started to be issued and beneficiaries who were impacted by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and/or the Government Pension Offset (GPO) will begin receiving their full benefits. According to the SSA, the retroactive benefits, which repay the Social Security benefits lost to GPO and WEP back to January 2024, will be received in a one-time payment by the end of March. Most impacted beneficiaries will begin receiving their increased GPO and WEP-free Social Security benefits in April. Payments will be processed incrementally throughout March, so not everyone will receive their retroactive payments at the same time.
There are some complex cases, particularly GPO cases, where the SSA will need to process the benefit changes manually, which could delay the retroactive payment and monthly benefit increase.
Please refer to the SSA’s detailed and updated FAQ on the implementation of the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), which can be found here: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/social-security-fairness-act.html.
President Signs EO on Health Care Pricing Transparency
On February 25, President Trump signed an Executive Order on Making America Healthy Again by Empowering Patients with Clear, Accurate, and Actionable Healthcare Pricing Information. This executive order will enhance hospital and drug pricing transparency by requiring the disclosure of the actual prices of items and services, updating guidance and regulations to ensure pricing information is standardized and easily comparable across hospitals and health plans, and issuing updated enforcement policies to improve compliance with the transparency reporting requirements.
This executive order is a follow up to one that President Trump issued during his first term in September 2020, An America-First Healthcare Plan, which required hospitals to disclose pricing data for all services and provide a user-friendly display for 300 shoppable procedures, as well as mandated insurers reveal negotiated rates, out-of-network payments, and prescription drug costs, and create an online tool for consumers to compare costs.
The February 25 executive order, building upon the 2020 order, will improve transparency and accountability in healthcare costs and support patients as they navigate their way through our nation’s complicated healthcare system.
