News

  • Weekly Update For Week Ending July 3 2020

    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. .Congressman Elijah Cummings (MD-7), Ranking Member of the Committee, agreed, saying: "Drug company executives are lining their pockets at the expense of some of the most vulnerable families in our nation … [People in my district] struggle every single month to pay the increasing cost of housing, education, and health care. They live from paycheck to paycheck and sometimes from no check to no check." He went on to promote his bill, the Prescription Drug Affordability Act, which would take several steps to ensure more affordable prescription drugs, including greater price transparency. .How Much Should You Spend on Vet Care for Your Pets? … Continued

  • Social Security Medicare Questions Marchapril 2013

    If you receive a call from a person claiming to be from SSA, and that person asks you to provide your Social Security number or other information don't give it out over the phone. Contact your local SSA and report the call – it's likely to be a scam. .In addition, eleven new cosponsors signed on to the Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures (PRIME) Act (S. 1123 and H.R. 2305) this week, bringing the total up to seventeen in the Senate and nineteen in the House. If signed into law, the bill would take a number of steps to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse within the two programs. It would enact stronger penalties, curb mistaken payments, phase out the "pay and chase" method, reduce physician identity theft, and improve data-sharing, among other things. The new cosponsors are Sens. Joe Manchin (WV) and Mike Johanns (NE), and Reps. Tim Griffin (AR-2), Diane Black (TN-6), Tammy Duckworth (IL-8), Ed Whitfield (KY-1), Reid Ribble (WI-8), Steve Womack (AR-3), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Tom Latham (IA-3), and Markwayne Mullin (OK-2). .First, one new cosponsor – Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA) – signed on to the Patient Right to Know Act (S. 2554), bringing the total up to seven. If adopted, this bipartisan bill would ensure that pharmacists are never prohibited from telling patients when their prescriptions would be cheaper out-of-pocket than through their insurance coverage. … Continued

Now the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has told hospitals they can't hide their prices from web searches. .Two Bills Gain New Cosponsors .Trump Issues Executive Order on Prescription Drugs .Sources: "Under New Cost-Cutting Medicare Rule, Same Surgery, Same Place, Different Bill," Susan Jaffe, Kaiser Health News, March 23, 2021. .Baicker, the public policy school dean, thinks public scrutiny will prevent outrageous pricing. The industry has made various pledges, trying to balance corporate citizenship against making eager investors happy: Astra Zeneca has promised 1 billion doses for low- and middle-income countries. Johnson & Johnson says it would make the COVID-19 vaccine available on a "not for profit basis" at for "emergency pandemic use." .Proponents of cutting benefits argue that Social Security, as it is currently structured, is unstainable because there are fewer workers to support current retirees. Social Security is estimated to run short of funds in about 15 years. Without changes and soon, Social Security benefits would have to be reduced by about 22% to match the amount of revenues that the program receives. .The Safe and Affordable Drugs from Canada Act (S. 61), introduced by Senators Chuck Grassley (IA) and Amy Klobuchar (MN), would allow individuals to safely import prescriptions from approved pharmacies in Canada. .Last - don't let all the political spin about Social Security scare you. The program is not going broke. Social Security does face a long-term financial challenge. Even when the Social Security Trust Fund becomes exhausted there would still be sufficient assets from payroll taxes to pay about 75 percent of promised benefits. Although that isn't a fair or acceptable outcome — a far more likely one — Congress will take action to correct the imbalance. .In case Congress is not able to come to an agreement concerning legislation to lower prescription drug prices, there are reports that President Trump is considering executive action to cut drug prices ahead of the 2020 election as he enters his re-election seeking to rebut Democratic criticism that his policies have hurt U.S. health care.