News

  • Legislative Update September 2018

    Find out the full cost of your new drug and whether your drug plan covers it, every year. Case in point: Using the Medicare Drug Plan finder I learned that my client's new brand name prescription cost more than a month for a 30-day supply, and her drug plan did not cover it. Because she was lucky enough to be in the middle of the fall Part D Open Enrollment period, however, my client was able to save ,080 in uncovered out-of-pocket drug costs in 2011 by switching drug plans. She was able to enroll in a plan that provided better coverage and reduced her drug cost to a co-pay. Once you determine that a new prescription is your best option, check your drug plan coverage and what you will pay for it — and do this every year. If the drug is expensive, and if your drug plan doesn't cover it, or drops coverage, you may want to go back to your doctor to see whether there is a less costly prescription that you can try. You can check the coverage and full cost of the drug using the Medicare drug plan finder at www.medicare.gov. .This week, two new cosponsors – Reps. Mike Burgess (TX-26) and Lamar Smith (TX-21) – signed on as cosponsors to the No Social Security for Illegal Immigrants Act (H.R. 1716). The cosponsor total is now up to thirty-one. .Lawmakers Adjourn for Holiday Recess … Continued

  • Category Issues Cola Articles Page 6

    The federal government negotiates prescription drug prices for Medicaid and for veterans, but it is not allowed to negotiate lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries. Do you support that policy? .In 2016, when there was no COLA increase, those people protected by "hold harmless" paid the same premium that they did in 2015, 4.90. Part B premiums rose to 1.80 per month. In 2017 with just a 0.3 percent COLA, Medicare Part B premiums were once again adjusted downward so that the increase in an individuals' Part B premium did not reduce their Social Security benefit. Because the amount of their COLA was so it left most people who were held harmless paying a monthly premium of roughly 0 or less. .The Hard Times Guide to Retirement Security … Continued

On the unemployment payments to individuals, there are a lot of legal questions about the money the President wants to use to pay for this. He calls for billion of funding from the Department of Homeland Security's Disaster Relief Fund that is normally used for hurricanes, tornadoes, and massive fires to be shifted over to unemployment. .After the drug executives announced they would not meet with the President, he went on Twitter and accused the pharmaceutical industry of running ads that lied about his new executive order. .For progress updates or for more information about these and other bills that would strengthen the Social Security and Medicare programs, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website or follow TSCL on Twitter. ."The greatest risk in flight would be if you happen to draw the short straw and sit next to or in front, behind or across the aisle from an infector," said Richard Corsi, who studies indoor air pollution and is the dean of engineering at Portland State University. .In addition, the AHCA would repeal a tax created by the ACA that serves as a critical funding stream for Medicare's Hospital Insurance Trust Fund. Cutting the tax would accelerate the insolvency of the Medicare Part A Trust Fund, and in a matter of a few years, it would become exhausted. In a Washington Post opinion piece, former Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Andy Slavitt wrote, "That's clearly no accident: The program would wind up right where ‘entitlement hawks' such as House Speaker Paul D Ryan (R-Wis.) want it – in crisis. If this bill became law, the speaker would finally be positioned to change Medicare to a voucher program." .Johnson conducts research on the growth of the prices of goods and services that form a major part of a retirees' household budgets. According to Johnson, Medicare beneficiaries' out-of-pocket spending for prescription drugs was a total cost of ,097 in 2020 (including what beneficiaries and their drug plans pay). "Although drug plans vary, under the standard Part D benefit, the beneficiary is responsible for about 25% of that amount, and drug plans cover the remaining 75% up to an initial coverage limit which is ,130 in 2021," Johnson says. .By Representative Donald Norcross (NJ-01) .When a zero COLA was announced for 2016, the Medicare Trustees projected that the Part B premium and deductible amounts would increase by an unprecedented 52 percent between 2015 and 2016 — from 4.90 to 9.30 per month.[7] Passage of The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, however resulted in reducing the increase in Part B premiums from 9.30 per month to 1.80 per month, which was still an extremely high 16.1 percent increase. The premium included a repayment amount that was added to monthly premiums of all beneficiaries in future years to recover over time the cost of the reduced premium rate in 2016.[8] .Upon introducing the bill, Rep. Negrete McLeod said: "For seniors living on a fixed income, this could greatly impact their quality of life … We must protect seniors and ensure those who are most vulnerable do not face greater economic insecurity due to rising medical expenses." By preventing the threshold hike from occurring, her bill would save the average senior nearly 0 a year in qualifying tax deductions. TSCL enthusiastically supports H.R. 4104, and we look forward to working with Rep. Negrete McLeod in the coming months to help build support for it. In the meantime, we encourage our members and supporters to contact their representatives to request their support for it. To find contact information for your elected officials, click HERE.