Medicare alone does not cover all the costs you will have. Most people also get either a Medicare supplement to cover out-of-pocket costs and Part D plan for prescription drugs, or enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan with Part D coverage. .Unlike Medigap plans, Medicare Advantage plans charge a co-payment every time you visit a doctor, use a lab, or have a brief hospital stay. In fact, Medicare Advantage plans can charge a very hefty 5 — 5 per day co-payments for hospital stays that generally would cost nothing at all under Medigap supplements for the same period. Seniors, especially those who are older, and who might require hospitalizations or have chronic health conditions, may wind up spending as much or even more out-of-pocket in a low, or no premium Medicare Advantage Plan as they would with under a Medigap plan. Medicare Advantage plans appear to be more advantageous for seniors who: .So, before these invaluable vaccines hit the market, we should talk about an actual price. Otherwise, we will be stuck paying dearly for shots that the rest of the world will get for much less. .Will Our New Congress Pass a Benefit Boost? .TSCL's Board of Trustees Visits Capitol Hill .The 2100 Act, if signed into law, would increase Social Security benefits by 2 percent, cut taxes for over 11 million seniors, increase the minimum benefit to 125 percent of the poverty line, and make COLAs more fair and accurate. It would also take measures to increase the solvency of the trust fund beyond the next seventy-five years, through the year 2100. .When asked whether you prefer to get your Social Security benefits directly deposited electronically to bank accounts or received by mail, 9 percent of seniors still prefer receiving checks. .The rule would require drug companies to give Medicare beneficiaries rebates that now go to insurers and PBMs. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates it would increase taxpayer costs by 7 billion over 10 years. .At Thursday's hearing, Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (TX-3) and Ranking Member John Larson (CT-3) both spoke about how their Social Security reform bills would improve the program's financing. Chairman Johnson's bill – the Social Security Reform Act – would do so primarily through benefit cuts, while Ranking Member Larson's bill – the Social Security 2100 Act – would do so primarily through revenue increases. Mr. Goss confirmed that both bills – using two very different approaches – would return the program to 75-year solvency if adopted.