Seventy-eight percent of older voters participating in TSCL's survey say they support raising payroll taxes, eliminating the taxable maximum wage cap so that everyone pays Social Security taxes on all earnings over 8,500. Unlike low - and middle - income wage earners, the highest earners today only pay taxes on the first 8,500 in earnings and enjoy a huge Social Security tax break on all on wages over that amount. A clear majority — 62% of survey participants — also favors very gradually increasing the payroll tax rate by 1% each for workers and employers. Taken together, both changes would provide enough financing to keep the program solvent for more than 50 years. .The House passed H.R. 1868 by a vote of 246-175 on March 19, with 29 Republicans voting in favor of the bill. .Fifty-one percent said they put off trips to the doctor and other routine medical care, some for months on end. Forty-four percent said they postponed filling prescriptions or were taking less of their medication than prescribed to make it last. .For information about town hall meetings near you in the weeks ahead, call the local offices of your elected officials. For contact information, click HERE. .This week, discussions to fund the federal government past September 30th – the end of the fiscal year – seemed to stall. Leaders in the House and Senate told reporters last week that they planned to take up a short-term continuing resolution (CR) by September 21st. However, this week, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle said many important details remain up in the air, and the timeline has shifted. .Medicare Advantage plans combine both parts of Medicare, and the health plans are required to cover everything that is covered under original Medicare. However, your provider may be reporting your doctor's orders to your Medicare Advantage plan in order to get prior authorization for your CT scan. Most Medicare Advantage plans routinely require prior authorization to manage your care and to prevent excess use of care that has not been documented as medically necessary. This practice protects you from surprise bills, and confirms that the provider is authorized to bill your Medicare Advantage plans for your care. .It's smart to compare your health insurance options. Your Initial Enrollment period for Medicare begins three months before you attain age 65, the month you turn 65, and ends three months after you attain 6If you decide in favor of starting Medicare as soon as you are eligible, then you would want to shop and compare coverage costs now. .The House recently passed legislation the FAIR Act (H.R. 1423, S.610) that would prohibit mandatory arbitration agreements in employment, consumer, and other contracts. Legal advocates who work on behalf of older adults estimate that as many as 90% of large nursing homes in the U.S. use arbitration agreements in their admission contracts. The federal government has been considering plans to expand the use of mandatory arbitration clauses to be included in contracts for every long - term care facility that accepts federal money as a condition of admission. Nursing homes receive funding from both Medicaid and Medicare for all residents. .Because of the huge demand various brands of sanitizers started appearing in stores that we had not seen before. Then we were alerted that some of those that were made in Mexico contained methanol, a form of alcohol that's poisonous to humans, and we should not use them.