Last fall, as part of his deficit reduction plan, President Obama recommended charging a 30 percent surcharge on Part B premiums to new beneficiaries who purchase Medigap polices with "near first-dollar" coverage. But do Medigap supplements encourage the over use of services? According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, about 20% of Medicare beneficiaries have a Medigap policy and they paid an average of 8 per month for premiums in 2010 (premiums vary significantly). People purchase the policies specifically to protect against the considerable costs that Medicare does not cover, and to help keep budgets in retirement years more predictable. They have modest incomes, but don't qualify for Medicaid. About 66% have incomes below ,000 and nearly 31% have incomes below ,000. .But for more than two months, state inspectors failed to enter half the country's homes — a revelation that prompted CMS to crack down. .Co-pays and coinsurance: This refers to the portion of the cost of services that you pay out-of-pocket. Co-pays are a fixed amount that you will pay for each service. For example, in a Medicare Advantage plan, you may be billed a co-pay of to see a primary care physician and to see a specialist. On the other hand, coinsurance is a variable amount. It is a percentage of the cost of the service. Theoretically if the total cost of the service is ,000 and you pay 20% coinsurance, your cost could be about 0. Under Medicare Advantage your health plan negotiates the cost of service, thus you would want to call your plan to get an idea what your total out-of-pocket costs would be, and whether your provider is a preferred provider. Under most Medigap policies, the Part B co-insurance cost is covered in large part, but there still could be some "excess charges" that you pay out of pocket. .As a result of the inadequate funding, both the both the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and the Disability Insurance (DI) programs have been struggling to serve the public. More than one million applicants are currently waiting to hear whether they qualify for DI benefits, and those who have appealed recent rejections must wait 600 days or longer for their cases to be re-heard. In 2017, 10,000 individuals died while waiting on their DI eligibility decisions. While waiting, they had no access to DI benefits or Medicare coverage, which recipients with long-term disabilities can receive after they are enrolled in the program for two years. .TSCL has been getting a steady stream of email from those of you who might potentially be affected by a sizable benefit cut when you. Ask the Advisor: June 2021 What Is Congress Doing to Prevent My Benefits From Being Reduced? .For tax year 2021, families claiming the Child Tax Credit will receive up to ,000 per qualifying child between the ages of 6 and 17 at the end of 202Under prior law, the amount of the credit was up to ,000 per qualifying child under the age of 17 at the end of the year. .In a statement, Congressman Doggett said: "Despite groundbreaking medical discoveries, we see no breakthrough in affordability for consumers. Drug pricing in America is a tangled mess, a knot that will take more than one cut to pull apart … Sick patients are tired of seeing Congress do nothing about a problem that affects so many." .For decades, Medicare and Social Security have lifted millions of people out of poverty and provided seniors with affordable, high-quality healthcare and reliable financial support. In Congress, we have a responsibility to strengthen and modernize Medicare and Social Security for today's seniors and future generations. That's why, earlier this year, I worked with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to oppose proposals by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to cut Medicare Advantage and limit access to prescription drugs. Thanks to these bipartisan efforts, CMS reconsidered these proposals. .You can go here to see the Mayo Clinic symptoms chart: