However, leaders in the House postponed the vote and the discussion grew complicated after President Obama made a last-minute request to include funding for the training of Syrian rebels in the CR. "This is substantive policy change … Of course I would rather pass a clean, simple CR," said Rep. Mike Rogers (MI-8), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, following the President's request. ."Our example just looked at the salaries and performance pay of just 20 CEOs," notes Johnson. "According to the Social Security Administration, there will be 12 million people who earn above the taxable maximum in 2018," she adds. .The Obama Administration and proponents of Obamacare have continued to downplay the cancellations of the health insurance of 4.7 million individual policy-holders (including yours truly) who received notices that our polices would be ending in 2014 because they didn't comply with the new healthcare law. I was able to temporarily renew my so-called. ."Based on the new data through August, there's a downward inflation trend," Johnson says. "Although my calculator indicates the COLA could be 6.1 percent, the chances of inflation remaining high enough for that to occur is only 10 percent based on 20 years of historic trends. The chances of the data dropping to 6 percent are twice that high, 20 percent. "With the July and August consumer price data, inflation is plateauing," Johnson says. .The total cost for a single year of treatment with the nation's most expensive specialty drugs can cost more than the entire retirement savings for many retirees. The annual cost of the cancer drug Idhifa, for example, is 0,85According to a new study by the non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation, the median out-of-pocket cost that Medicare Part D beneficiaries will pay out-of-pocket for specialty drugs in 2019 would be ,55Patients suffering from multiple sclerosis could pay an estimated out-of-pocket of ,409 in 2019 for Glatiramer acetate. Even on the "low side," the annual out-of-pocket for Hepatitis C drug, Zepatier runs ,622. .This week, lawmakers in the House debated legislation to repeal the controversial Medicare cost-cutting panel, the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). In addition, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) saw one key bill gain four cosponsors. .Congress should prohibit "surprise medical bills. Congress should require healthcare providers and insurers to accept fees no greater than 20 percent more than the Medicare approved fees as settlement. — 82 percent support, 15 percent not sure, and only 4 percent opposed. (Legislation passed in December would provide relief from surprise medical bills but stopped short of tying payments to prices paid by Medicare and Medicaid which are often lower than other rates negotiated by other insurers.) .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? .Johnson says that the federal government is looking at the wrong market basket to determine the annual change in prices in the goods and services used by retired and disabled Americans. According to Johnson, had the government used a more appropriate inflation index that measures costs experienced by people age 62 and older, the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), retirees would get a COLA of 2.1 percent instead of 0.3 percent in 201"But instead, the COLA is based on the increased price of goods normally purchased by younger working adults," she notes.