Congress and President Obama are battling over the federal budget, but supporters in Congress aren& 8217;t about to forget Notch Babies. The Notch Fairness Act bills (H.R. 155) and (S.90) were introduced by Representative Mike McIntrye (NC-7) and Senator David Vitter (LA). They were among the first bills to be re-introduced in. TSCL Continues Working For Notch Reform TSCL has not given up our goal of Notch reform. In recent months we have been working with long-term Notch reform allies in Congress to ensure that Notch Babies& 8217;, needs are protected from deficit reduction plans that would affect people who are currently retired. .VA officials are talking to other agencies about expanding the availability of vaccines at VA facilities, Richard Stone, acting under secretary for health at the Veterans Health Administration, said. Limited supply has forced the department to prioritize veterans who are currently enrolled to receive vaccines, though in some cases they have managed to immediately enroll eligible veterans on the spot, Stone said. .We reported last week that President Trump has dropped his demand for a payroll tax cut in any new pandemic-related stimulus bill, which TSCL successfully lobbied against, along with many other groups. However, other issues have caused great difficulty in negotiations for a new bill, one of which has not received much attention in the main press. .We will get through this. .To get a list of supplemental plans offered in your state, insurers and premiums, check your state's insurance commission's website for published guides comparing Medicare supplement premiums. Look up the plan you are interested in to compare premiums in your area. Be sure you look at the quotes for people who are your age, but do read on to get a feel for how premiums rise with age. Once you pin down a few likely insurers, you will need to call the insurer to confirm premium quotes for your zip code. ."AbbVie is one of 33 member companies of the industry's top lobbying group, PhRMA, which raised nearly 0 million from membership dues in 2018, the most recent year for which data is available. But AbbVie's political action committee is one of just two pharmaceutical company PACs to donate the maximum ,000 to PhRMA's federal PAC since 2013, a potential indicator that AbbVie was highly motivated to influence legislation," according to a report on Salon.com. .In 1983 government economists changed the way housing costs were measured in the CPI. Housing represents almost 50% of the expenditures of people age 65 and older, and thus changes to that expenditure category tend to have a big impact. Rather than basing housing costs on some measure of home prices, after 1983 the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated costs "based on what homeowners theoretically would pay to themselves in order to rent their own homes from themselves. The BLS then estimates how much homeowners raise the rent on themselves each month," according to Williams. .Lawmakers returned to their home states and districts this week to celebrate the Christmas holiday. Members of the Senate returned to Capitol Hill on Thursday, while Members of the House are expected to return on Sunday, just one day before the Fiscal Cliff is scheduled to hit. .Part D — If you choose a Medigap plan, or a Medicare Advantage plan that does not offer drug coverage, you will need a Part D plan. If you take any prescription drugs, be sure to input your medications to get an accurate estimate of costs and to check the coverage of the drugs you take. Coverage of prescription drugs varies from plan to plan and from one year to the next. The average monthly premium for Part D plans weighted for enrollment is Plans often charge a deductible and in 2011 you would need to spend a total of ,550 out-of-pocket (not including premiums) before reaching catastrophic coverage.