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It would: require Medicare to negotiate lower Part D drug prices, allow individuals to import prescription drugs from Canada, require greater price transparency from drug manufacturers, accelerate the closing of the Part D "doughnut hole," restore drug rebates for low-income seniors, and put a 0 monthly cap on prescription drug spending for individuals. Together, these changes would dramatically reduce drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries. In the coming months, TSCL will continue to work towards its passage in Congress..In the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the first generation of drugs was mediocre at best, he said. As scientists learned more about the virus and the disease it causes, the medicines became more effective. That may be a model for what we are going to have here. We may not get the best vaccine up front. But hopefully it will be good enough and will be replaced later by better vaccines. We have may just have to live with that until we get a better one..The recent battle in Congress over lifting the debt limit contained mostly good news and some not so good news, for disabled and retired Americans. The legislation rolled back an unprecedented 52% spike in Medicare Part B premiums due to affect about 15.6 million Medicare recipients, and it prevented a 19% cut in Social Security Disability Insurance benefits due to occur later this year. But the legislation contained no Cost-of-Living Adjustment relief for 2016, and closed off one of the few claiming strategies that some Americans have to boost their Social Security payouts..the New Deal in 1935, it was never designed to be anyone's sole means of support.According to TSCL's Senior Surveys, more than half of retiree households pay taxes on Social Security benefits. The new tax law did not change the income thresholds that subject Social Security benefits to taxation. Taxpayers with incomes in excess of ,000 or ,000 pay taxes on as much as 50% of Social Security benefits. For taxpayers with income exceeding ,000 and ,000, up to 85% of Social Security benefits may be taxed. Rather than paying quarterly estimates, taxpayers may use Form W-4V to withhold a flat rate from Social Security checks: 7%, 10%, 12%, or 22%..Call your drug plan to ask about the coverage of the new generic and the expected co-pay. Be forewarned: according to Consumer Reports magazine, some Medicare drug plans charge lower co-payments for the branded version than for its generic counterpart. That has to do with agreements between insurers and pharmaceutical companies that make it seem like the name brand is the better deal..TSCL continues to fight the agreement and supports measures that would block it from taking effect should it be sent to Congress for approval. TSCL continues to educate new lawmakers about the issue and recently filed a third Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to force the U.S. government to release documents related to the agreement, include those concerning the estimated cost to the Social Security Trust Fund..On Monday, the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare programs released their annual reports on the current and projected financial status of the two programs. As expected, the Trustees found that both programs currently face significant but manageable financial challenges..The Senior Citizens League encourages its supporters to attend these events and to ask important questions of their elected officials, like the following three…

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Based on the result of this poll, The Senior Citizens League has endorsed legislation called the Seniors Have Eyes, Ears, and Teeth Act, a bill introduced by Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard and 131 cosponsors in the House of Representatives. If adopted, H.R. 508 would expand Medicare coverage to include essential hearing, vision, and dental services.."At the very least a plan is needed to prevent fraudsters from stealing critically needed benefits from legitimately disabled beneficiaries," Cates says. TSCL agrees with the Social Security Administration Inspector General that the best way to do this is to conduct full medical continuing disability reviews to ensure that people are still eligible to receive benefits. Yet In fiscal year 2013, the budget request was to conduct 650,000 reviews but given the actual funding received, the agency reported conducting only 429,000 such reviews. Consequently the Social Security Administration reports a backlog of 1.3 million overdue CDRs at the end of fiscal year 2013.[v] TSCL urges Congressional support to provide the resources needed to eliminate the CDR backlog and provide rigorous oversight from fraud..The Senior Citizens League encourages its supporters to attend these events and to ask important questions of their elected officials, like the following three… … Continued

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At Tuesday's hearing, lawmakers on the Aging Committee and those who testified advocated for the passage of the bipartisan Building Our Largest Dementia Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act, which was recently introduced by Chairman Collins and currently has the support of forty Senate cosponsors. If adopted, the bill would create the public health infrastructure that is needed to promote early detection, coordinate care, support caregivers, and combat Alzheimer's disease..Second, one new cosponsor Senator Debbie Stabenow signed on to the bipartisan Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification Act, bringing the cosponsor total up to three. If adopted, S. 1909 would simplify and modernize the complex Medicare enrollment process..Will higher-income workers pay their fair share of taxes to Social Security? … Continued

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