Medicare report medicare beneficiaries out of pocket health care spending as a share of income now and projections for the future

Hang up the phone or shut the door if you encounter any of the following:.Borrowing money to fund Social Security and Medicare benefits would not be possible unless that option could win the support of three-fifths of both the House and Senate..In addition, the Social Security Fairness Act gained one new cosponsor in Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, bringing the cosponsor total up to 16If signed into law, H.R. 1205 would repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision two Social Security provisions that unfairly reduce the earned benefits of millions of public servants each year..However, pharmaceutical companies have sent in multitudes of lobbyists to stop the House Democrats bill, arguing that it would deter the creation of new drugs and lead to suffering and death..Early in the summer, I spent an afternoon at one of two critical access hospitals in my district in Southeastern Ohio. It's a hospital with just 25 beds and an Emergency Department no larger than many families' kitchens. Still, every year the doctors and nurses there care for more than 2,000 inpatients and treat an astonishing 50,000 outpatients..If adopted, S. 62 would allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate fair prescription drug prices under Part D of the Medicare program..You may possibly qualify for a divorced spouse Social Security survivor's benefit that would be the same as what a widow would get, but you have a number of options that you need to carefully think through. If you receive survivors benefits as a divorced spouse now, you can switch to your own retirement benefit later if it is higher than your widow's benefit..My pulmonologist ordered a CT scan, but the person scheduling appointments said they first had to check my insurance. Is this correct? I'm covered by Medicare and a Medicare Advantage plan. I thought I would be covered for any medically necessary CT scan..The stakes are high for retirees, who want Congressional action. Eighty eight percent of those of you who took our 2021 Senior Survey want Congress to reduce prescription drug costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate prices. Congressional inaction would cost all of us dearly, if lawmakers fail to take action to boost Social Security benefits and enact reforms that would strengthen Social Security's financing for decades to come.

Regina Hospitals New Emergency Department Explained
My frail mother was in the hospital after passing out and falling. She stayed "in observation" for four days and received a number of tests for stroke, heart and circulatory problems. After discharge, her doctor said she needed nursing home care. The nursing home warned us that if mother's hospital stay was observation Medicare would not cover the nursing home stay. She has received several large bills for the hospital care. We can't afford to pay for this care out-of-pocket. Can you suggest anything?.physical or mental condition at some point that will cause them to need help.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last week that she is pushing to attach drug price cutting legislation to the major budget bill carrying most of President Biden's trillion economic agenda in the coming months. … Continued

New Ulm Health Project Paying Off Seven Years Later
Currently, Social Security COLAs are based on the CPI-W, which tracks the spending patterns of young, urban workers. This index underestimates the inflation that seniors experience since it fails to capture the medical and housing costs that many spend most of their incomes on. TSCL estimates that a CPI for seniors would put the annual COLA at two-tenths of a percentage point higher than the CPI-W. Over the course of a retirement, this would amount to several thousands of dollars more in Social Security benefits..This includes, among other things, legislation to strengthen the long-term viability of both Social Security and Medicare; lowering the costs of prescription drugs; enacting a fair COLA that takes into account the actual cost of living increases seniors face; Social Security Notch Reform; stopping any cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid, or to the COLA that may be proposed; enacting legislation to provide for dental, vision and hearing coverage for seniors..To learn more about how work affects your benefits, call the Social Security Administration toll free at and ask for How Work Affects Your Benefits … Continued

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