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  • Legislative Update August 2021

    Get prescriptions from your veterinarian for medications: When your vet prescribes antibiotics or any other drug, don't automatically buy all the pills from the veterinary practice. Ask for a prescription. Often, you can get a cheaper price from your pharmacist instead, so check first. You can get a pet medication discount card from Costco, CVS, Rite-Aide, Walgreen's and Walmart. Compare prices with reputable online companies as well. .The federal contribution would be redirected from disaster relief money at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Those funds are not likely to last more than two months, and the President did not say when the benefits would kick in. .In addition, you will need a plan to cover the portion of costs that Medicare does not pay which are considerable, either a Medicare supplement (Medigap plan) with a Part D plan for drug coverage or Medicare Advantage plan that includes drug coverage. Spending on Medicare and health insurance premiums comprise the biggest share of healthcare costs, nearly two-thirds of overall senior healthcare spending. … Continued

  • Beware Of Utility Bill Payment Scam

    In the past five years the annual adjustment has averaged just 1.4 percent — less than half the 3 percent average of the prior two decades starting in 1990. Retirees and disabled Social Security recipients are reporting that the COLA is doing a poor job of what it's intended to do — protecting the buying power of their Social Security benefits. According to an annual survey performed by TSCL, Social Security benefits have lost 31 percent of their buying power since 2000. .This year, The Senior Citizens League has heard from supporters like never before about some extreme costs of prescription drugs. One supporter told us she pays ,800 for a three-month supply of insulin as a type 2 diabetic. She said: "I do not have that kind of money! My doctor has been giving me samples to keep me afloat but I cannot expect him to do that forever … I will have to sell my house to pay for insulin." .Efforts to lower the cost of prescription drugs have been taking place at the state level as well as at the national level. This week the New Mexico legislature sent a bill to their Governor that aims to make the state among the first to work with the federal government on wholesale drug importation from Canada. States including Vermont, Maine, Colorado, and Florida have passed similar bills.
Backers said importing lower-cost drugs from Canada would help people who can't afford their prescriptions amid rising costs in the U.S. … Continued

According to the Inspector General's report, of the 6.5 million active numbers, the Social Security Administration had issued payments to 266 of the number holders, but a review found that only 13 people were likely to be still alive and collecting benefits. In addition to the problem of payments to the dead, the balance of the 6.5 million active numbers pose a risk because they could be stolen to claim fraudulent tax refunds and to work illegally. The IRS has estimated that it paid out .8 billion in fraudulent tax refunds in 2013 because of identity theft. .The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is a federal program that can help eligible households with their heating and cooling costs. The program varies by state and, depending on where you live, can help with such things as: .Sources: "Medicare Drug Plan Benefit Some, Others Fall Through Cracks," Robyn Shelton, The Orlando Sentinel, February 2, 200"Federal Costs Dropping Under New Medicare Drug Plan," Robert Pear, The New York Times, February 3, 200"U.S. Customs Cracks Down On Prescription Drug Shipments," Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, February 9, 200"Answers Sought on Medicine Seizures," Lisa Girion and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, The Los Angeles Times, February 16, 2006. .The exact mechanisms for enacting the provisions therein — such as requiring manufacturers to reveal their development costs — remain unclear. The industry has previously protected development data as a trade secret. The bills would also require "reasonable pricing clauses" be included in agreements between drug companies and agencies funding their work. They propose waiving exclusive licenses for COVID-19 drugs, allowing competitors to sell the same products as long as they pay the patent holder royalties. .Source: The Federal Government's Long-Term Fiscal Outlook, Government Accountability Office, October 201"Monitoring Medicare+Choice, What Have We Learned?" Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., August, 2004. .Democrats have delayed the start of the program in part because of its cost and an agreement to limit the overall spending in the Biden budget bill to .5 trillion. There is some talk on Capitol Hill of offering seniors limited vouchers to use toward dental benefits before 2028 as a compromise. .Even though I'm not on Medicare yet, these new quality initiatives will, one way or another will affect most patients, even those like me who are still under the age of 65 as doctors reorganize. I felt dumped. .To cover the cost of CPI-E Act's adoption and to improve the solvency of the Social Security program, The Senior Citizens League supports an increase in the payroll tax cap. Nearly 75 percent of our supporters agree that the wealthiest Americans must begin contributing to the program more fairly, based on the results of our 2018 Senior Survey. Several bills now before Congress would increase or eliminate the payroll tax cap, and The Senior Citizens League will continue to advocate for their passage tirelessly in the months ahead. .Please, share this video with your friends (use the "Share" button above or copy the URL into an email).