A study on the buying power of Social Security benefits by Johnson has found that Medicare Part B premiums are the single fastest growing cost that retirees have, increasing 195 percent since 2000. Most retirees also have premiums for a Medicare supplement (Medigap) and Part D drug plan, or a Medicare Advantage health plan with drug coverage. Medigap premiums have increased 158 percent since 2000, and out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs increased 188 percent. .This week, TSCL enthusiastically announced its support for the Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures (PRIME) Act (S. 1123 and H.R. 2305). In the Senate, the bill was introduced by Sens. Tom Carper (DE) and Tom Coburn (OK), and in the House, it was introduced by Reps. Peter Roskam (IL-6) and John Carney (DE). It currently has bipartisan support, with fifteen cosponsors in the Senate and ten in the House. .On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed two bills – the Know the Lowest Price Act (S. 2553) and the Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act (S. 2554) – into law that will protect Medicare beneficiaries and privately insured individuals from "gag clauses" at pharmacies. "Gag clauses" prevent pharmacists from telling consumers when it would be cheaper to purchase their prescriptions out-of-pocket than through their Medicare Part D or health insurance plans. .Last year, prescription drug prices grew by 12% nationwide. A rate that high hasn't occurred since 200What do you believe should be done to manage the growing cost increases of prescription drugs? .This unexpected policy adjustment is largely attributable to the 6 billion in cuts to Medicare that Obamacare calls for. More than one-fifth of the cuts – approximately 6 billion – are to the Medicare Advantage program, which insures more than one-quarter of all seniors over the age of sixty-five. It's important to note that the savings from the cuts are not going back into the Medicare Trust Fund; instead, the money is going to help pay for the health insurance of younger, working adults under Obamacare. .How do I go about contacting the Social Security Administration? .Members of the House adjourned for a week-long recess on Monday, but budget talks continued for the lawmakers that sit on the bicameral conference committee. While many have reportedly been meeting behind closed doors, Sen. Bernard Sanders (VT) took his message public in a news conference that announced his opposition to including entitlement cuts in a budget package. He said this week, "On these issues, Congress is way out of touch. The American people do not want to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid." .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." .Enrollees in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans should take a careful look at changes in their health plan for 201These Medicare health plans have new leeway to offer new supplemental benefits. While some of the new benefits may be valuable to some families, other changes, which give plans greater leeway to "tier" the co-pay structure for healthcare providers, may mean higher out-of-pocket costs when non-preferred or out-of-network providers are used.