Your guaranteed issue rights for Medigap. If you want to purchase a Medigap policy, you need to do so during your Initial Enrollment Period. If you miss your Initial Enrollment Period, Medigap supplemental insurers can impose month waiting periods for pre-existing conditions that can leave you footing the bills until your coverage finally kicks in. On the other hand all Medicare Advantage plans offer guarantee issue rights, without exclusions or higher costs for pre-existing conditions or age during Medicare's fall annual enrollment periods. .I Thought My Co-pay Would Be Why Did I Have To Pay 3.45? .Budget Cuts Taking Toll on Congressional Staffs .Back in April the Social Security and Medicare Trustees released their reports with projections of the financial outlook of the programs. Those annual reports give the official government projections for the programs. It is important to note that the projections were made prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and therefore did not include the effects the pandemic has had on the economy and ultimately on the two programs. .The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, a federal agency known as BARDA, is giving Moderna up to 3 million for late-stage development of its vaccine. .In the absence of reliable data, we decided to ask the experts about the possibility of contracting the virus while on a flight. On the whole, airplanes on their own provide generally safe environments when it comes to air quality, but experts said the risk for infection depends largely on policies airlines may have in place regarding passenger seating, masking and boarding time. .In the months ahead, TSCL will continue to advocate for these and other legislative efforts that would improve the solvency of Social Security and Medicare without cutting benefits for seniors. .After spending four days at a local hospital being treated for a broken elbow and pelvis, 93-year-old Lois Frarie went to a nearby nursing home to build up her strength. Her family was later shocked to learn they would have to pay thousands of dollars out-of-pocket since two of the days she spent in the hospital were considered "observation care" as an outpatient. Because she wasn't an inpatient for at least three consecutive days, she didn't qualify for Medicare's nursing home coverage. .The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that the number of beneficiaries that will be required to pay the increased Medicare premiums will almost triple over the next decade rising from five percent of beneficiaries in 2011 to 14 percent in 2019 due to the expansions of "means testing" in the PPACA. By 2019 one out of every five new enrollees will have to pay higher premiums. The Senior Citizens League strongly opposes the "means test" and supports efforts to repeal it. To learn more, please visit .