Policy experts question how patients will make up postponed care (some services can't be made up) and the degree to which delays in getting care will have adverse health consequences. Both of these concerns suggest that another type of surge for hospitals—the aftermath of postponed care — may be coming next. Cutting hospital reimbursements now could potentially limit access to care when Medicare beneficiaries need it the most. .It eliminated the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). This fifteen-member board of unelected officials was created by the Affordable Care Act in 2010 to keep Medicare spending down when it exceeded a certain level. While that level was never surpassed and no members were ever appointed to the board, TSCL felt that it could have threatened access to quality medical care for Medicare beneficiaries since it had the power to cut payments to doctors and limit networks of providers. TSCL has advocated for bipartisan legislation for years that would have eliminated the IPAB, and we were pleased that the Bipartisan Budget Act did just that. ."We are saying you need to be doing more inspections," Verma told reporters, explaining her message to states. "We called on states in early March to go into every single nursing home and to do a focused inspection around infection control." .Gather your medical expense records from the past year to three years, if you have them. Organization of these records not only helps you figure out your household budget, but keeping it all in one place helps you compile the amount to claim as medical expenses at tax time. Since expenses vary so much with your health, going back three years can help you get a better idea of average annual cost. .I'm enrolled in a Part D drug plan. I thought I would get my brand name drug Eliquis, for a copay, but I was charged 5.4Why was that? .This study looks at 39 expenditures that are typical for people age 65 and up, comparing the growth in the prices of these goods and services to the growth in the annual COLAs. Based on consumer price index data through April 2021, it appears that the next COLA will be considerably higher in 202The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) is forecasting that the 2022 COLA could be 4.7%, making it the highest since 200But with such a high level of inflation volatility, this estimate could change several times before the COLA is announced in October 2021. .The drugs that would be affected by any Trump action are among the costliest taken by Americans. They include innovative therapies for cancer, immune disease and other disorders. The industry says that Part B pharmaceutical spending makes up just 3% of overall Medicare costs. .Seniors and Baby Boomers nearing retirement have every right to object and that doesn't make anybody greedy for doing so. After 1983, when the Social Security Trust Fund began building up reserves, our government proceeded to use all excess funds, and replaced that money with .6 trillion in special non-marketable bonds, or I.O.U.s. Seniors are frequently told those I.O.U.s are backed by the full faith of the U.S. government which has never defaulted on its debt. But now that the U.S. Treasury must borrow to pay the interest due to the I.O.U.s held by the Trust Fund, lawmakers are considering plans that would cut promised Social Security benefits. If a government default on the U.S. savings bonds held by public investors is unthinkable — why is cutting obligations to Social Security beneficiaries any less so? .TSCL surveys over the past decade have indicated that the vast majority of older adults are overwhelmingly opposed to the government policy of allowing credit toward Social Security benefits for work under invalid and fraudulent Social Security numbers. A large number of the comments we receive are focused on the belief that immigrants are benefiting at the expense of U.S. citizens. Many older voters perceive unauthorized immigrants as benefiting from Medicaid, tax refunds for children, food stamps, and that children of unauthorized immigrants are swelling the enrollment of public schools. Meanwhile, the same voters are watching in disgust as lawmakers make surprise Social Security cuts, and battle down to the last minute over the question of whether to repay revenues borrowed from the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds.