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A new analysis from The Senior Citizens League of 12 frequently - prescribed drugs illustrates that Medicare recipients frequently overpay for their medications. "Because Medicare doesn't negotiate drug prices there are wild swings in prices between Part D drug plans," says Mary Johnson, The Senior Citizens League's Medicare and Social Security policy analyst. The difference in cost for the same drug between drug plans can be in the thousands of dollars for the most expensive drugs, and hundreds of dollars for more common prescriptions. Since the start of Medicare Part D in 2006, Johnson has volunteered to help friends and acquaintances shop for Part D plans..Individuals with incomes above ,000, or couples with incomes above 0,000..The Democratic leadership in the House has announced that the House will not take its August break until the next pandemic relief legislation is passed but so far we have seen no indication regarding the intentions of the Republican-run Senate. As of right now, the Senate is scheduled to be out of session from August 10 until September 7..In a letter to Congressman Jones, Ed Cates TSCL's Chairman wrote: "The Senior Citizens League lends its enthusiastic support and the support of its membership to the Social Security Guarantee Act … We salute you for introducing legislation that would make the Social Security program more fair and reliable, and we look forward to informing our members and supporters about your efforts.".It remains to be seen whether Republicans in the Senate will begin working with Democrats on legislation that would stabilize the health insurance markets, or whether they will shift their focus to other legislative priorities. Following the failed vote early Friday morning, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told his colleagues: "I regret that our efforts were simply not enough … It's time to move on.".And there is this report from Vox News:.Older Americans report that their household budgets jumped substantially last year despite the lack of growth in their Social Security benefits, according to a new survey by The Senior Citizens League. "The gap between benefit growth and retiree costs was particularly pronounced due to rising prices of the most essential items in retirees' budgets, - medical and food costs," says TSCL's Social Security and Medicare policy analyst, Mary Johnson. TSCL today sent a letter to Congressional leaders calling upon them to enact legislation that would provide a modest boost to Social Security benefits..We've heard stories about cutting back on prescriptions over the years, but recently I heard one about a diabetic who was forced to cut back on the amount of insulin that she needed to control blood sugar. She was going into debt to buy Lantus insulin. Cutting back, and not taking the recommended dosage to control her blood sugar, triggered severe nerve pain and sent the woman back to her doctor..In their 2016 platform, Democrats committed to adopting a more fair and accurate Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, saying, "The Democratic Party recognizes that the way Social Security COLAs are calculated may not always reflect the spending patterns of seniors, particularly the disproportionate amount they spend on healthcare expenses." To cover the cost of providing a more accurate COLA and to increase the solvency of the trust funds, Democrats voted to support policies that would apply the payroll tax cap to income above 0,000 so that wealthier individuals pay the same Social Security tax rate as everyone else.