Reducing Medicare costs remains a top piece of unfinished business for TSCL. While Congress was successful in restraining a double-digit Medicare Part B increase in 2021, capping the increase at .90 per month rather than .60 more per month — I was particularly troubled to learn that .00 of the .90 Part B increase is a "repayment" charge. While TSCL congratulates Congress for passing legislation to hold the monthly Part B increase down, at least temporarily, the Part B increase wasn't "forgiven". The balance that won't be paid in 2021 will be recovered through a .00 per month repayment which will be tacked onto future Part B increases. That could take years. .This week, the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act (S. 2011) from Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) gained one new cosponsor: Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT). If adopted, the bill would require the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices for Medicare Part D beneficiaries. Its cosponsor total is now up to seven in the Senate. .The revenues from taxation of benefits are earmarked for funding Social Security and Medicare benefits. "Those revenues take on new importance in 2020, as the coronavirus takes a significant toll on Social Security and Medicare payroll tax revenues with more than 40 million people out of work," Johnson says. .For 4 per month the state of Virginia retirees should be able to purchase the most comprehensive drug coverage available nationally. But that was not the case. In fact, the drug benefits offered for 4 per month were almost identical to what Paula could purchase directly on her own for just .70 per month. The cost is so much lower because the federal government pays subsidies that cover an average of 75% of the cost of the Part D premium. Paula could not enjoy that savings if she received her Part D coverage through the state of Virginia retiree plan. If Paula chose to "opt out," she could find an even less costly plan that provided better coverage for the drugs she currently took. .The basic science that has allowed the small company to move so rapidly was developed with a huge prior infusion of federal money to come up with a treatment for diseases like Zika. .At the hearing, the Ranking Member of the Committee – Senator Bob Casey (PA) – presented a bill he introduced called the Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification (BENES) Act. If adopted, his bill would simplify the Medicare enrollment process and help those nearing eligibility avoid costly penalties for late enrollment. .The deal will likely move to the House and Senate for a vote before the Presidents Day recess begins. .Comprehensive immigration reform has been topping the legislative agenda in Congress for months, but so far most policy wonks and lawmakers have kept quiet about the ways in which reform would affect Social Security. Millions would become eligible to collect Social Security benefits based on work done illegally, under invalid or fraudulent Social Security numbers. TSCL is concerned about the ethical implications of this, and we believe that it would put additional strains on the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds. .On Wednesday the Pentagon sent a "rightsizing plan" to Congress which, if fully agreed to by Congress, would result in approximately 200,000 military family members and retirees losing their ability to get health care at military hospitals and clinics.