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  • Congress Limit Health Insurance Company Profits

    This makes additional protective measures such as mask-wearing all the more necessary. .Five Key Bills Gain Support .Sources: Statement: Social Security Payments Go Paperless, Honorable Patrick P. O'Carroll, Jr., Inspector General, Social Security Administration, June 19, 2013. … Continued

  • 95 Say Congress Repay Money Owed Social Security Trust Fund

    Medicare pays for a wide range of services including many preventive benefits, but routine eye care is not one of them. Medicare-eligible adults with diabetes can, however, get a dilated eye exam to check for diabetic eye disease. The patient's primary care doctor is responsible for determining how often this exam is needed. Medicare also covers an annual eye exam to check for glaucoma if the patient is diabetic or there is a family history of glaucoma. .Now there is a lobbying effort to make sure enough money is provided for those programs because without sufficient funding states could choose not to take the money and leave their Medicaid programs running as is. .Medicare health plans also have new rules about co-pays and co-insurance. Copayments can vary drastically between MA plans, but through 2018, individual plans were required to offer all enrollees in the plan's service area access to the same benefits at the same level of cost - sharing. In 2019, MA plans have the option of imposing tiers for the cost - sharing of contracted providers, as an incentive to encourage enrollees to seek care from specific providers. Plans that utilize tiered cost-sharing must disclose tiered co-pays and co-insurance amounts to enrollees and providers, ensure that services at each tier of cost-sharing are available to all enrollees, and ensure that all enrollees are charged the same amount for the same service from the same provider. … Continued

"If you look at the science across all diseases, you see few outbreaks" on planes, Allen said. "It's not the hotbed of infectivity that people think it is." .Passing a short-term funding bill to keep the government operating past September 30th is the last major hurdle lawmakers must tackle before the November elections. It remains to be seen whether or not they will successfully negotiate a CR before the quickly approaching deadline. In the days ahead, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) will keep a close eye on the talks since failing to pass a CR would likely impact Social Security beneficiaries and Medicare doctors negatively. For updates, visit the Legislative News section of our website. .The Obama administration recently proposed new regulations to deny Medicare to illegal immigrants and remove them from Medicare rolls. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are proposing U.S. citizenship or lawful presence in the United States as a new requirement for getting Medicare. .Now, allergy season has arrived and in the United States as many as 30 percent of adults and 40 percent of kids have seasonal allergies. ."While there's nothing unlawful per se about rushing to enact policy in the final days of a presidential administration (indeed, it's a time-honored tradition), executive branch officials may not circumvent clear legal requirements in the eleventh hour to achieve goals they couldn't accomplish in the normal course," he said. .As opposed to previous years, the Senate leaders want any legislation they have to pass out of the way by the end of May. That means any bill has to pass the Senate, then the Senate and House would have to negotiate and reach agreement on one bill before it could be sent to the President for his signature. .The good news is that reducing drug costs appears to have bipartisan support. Two critical congressional committees – the Senate Finance Committee and the House Oversight and Reform Committee – have launched investigations into the pricing practices of the pharmaceutical industry. .The senator wants his measure included in the next coronavirus legislation and plans to move ahead "with or without Democrats," his spokesman said. .To stay updated on the progress of prescription drug legislation, check back every Friday morning to read our weekly Legislative News summary.