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  • Again Colas May Face Another Round Of Cuts In Debt Limit Battle

    Two Key Bills Gain Cosponsors .Most people who spend the night in the hospital would say they have been an inpatient. But over the past six years, rapidly growing numbers of Medicare beneficiaries have learned that they were never admitted as an inpatient — even though they have stayed in a hospital bed, received treatment, diagnostic tests, and drugs. .Key Bills Gain New Cosponsors … Continued

  • Category Legislative News Page 52

    And it will not feel like a bargain if we get free or cheap vaccines during a pandemic but pay dearly for annual COVID-19 shots thereafter. .This week, lawmakers in the House and Senate remained in their home states and districts for a week-long holiday recess. They are expected to return to Washington on Monday, June 3rd. .Prevent a 50 percent Medicare premium hike from taking effect. According to the Medicare Trustees, an estimated 15 million Medicare beneficiaries will be hit with Part B premium hikes of 50 percent next year, along with increases in deductibles. TSCL believes that the abrupt and dramatic increase must be prevented, and we hope Congress will pass legislation like the Protecting Medicare Beneficiaries Act (S. 2148) or the Medicare Premium Fairness Act (H.R. 3696). … Continued

President Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing the federal government to buy certain drugs solely from American factories. .The calculation of the COLA is based on the percentage of difference in the average third quarter change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Clerical Workers and Wage Earners (CPI-W) from one year to the next. In late August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina knocked out petroleum production, causing gasoline and other consumer prices to surge in September. The CPI-W shot up an astonishing 1.5 percent between August and September of that year. But since Katrina, the CPI-W has increased .042 percent on average from August to September. "Even if costs were to rise as much as they did after Katrina, the COLA for 2018 would still be about 2 percent," Johnson says. .Shopping For a Better Drug Plan NOW Can Put More Money in Your 2020 Budget .However, according to a 2015 report, older Americans lose approximately .5 billion each year to financial scams and abuse, and these numbers are increasing as technology makes it easier for scammers to target older Americans. A 2016 survey from the Investor Protection Trust found that almost 1-in-5 seniors, approximately 7 million Americans, have reported being victims of exploitation. .The jury is still out on value-based health systems, and whether they can save any significant amount of money remains to be seen. The Congressional Budget Office issued a recent report outlining a number of issues and unintended consequences such as providing an incentive for providers to improve their "quality rankings" by avoiding sicker patients. Critics say that the system places a new burden on primary care doctors that would potentially punish providers financially for patients' bad health habits and behaviors. .Sources: "Policy Brief: The Evolution of Social Security's Taxable Maximum," Social Security Administration, September 2011, No.2011-02. .Cutting the payroll tax permanently, which President Trump said he would seek to do if he is re-elected, would bring insolvency even closer and make the whole situation so much worse. .The opinions expressed in "Congressional Corner" reflect the views of the writer and are not necessarily those of The Senior Citizens League. .In addition, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) is prohibited from negotiating directly with pharmaceutical companies on behalf of the more than 40 million Americans who get their prescription drug coverage from Medicare Part D.