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The law, however, also shifts the entire beneficiary share of Part B premium costs to the remaining 30% of individuals who are not protected by the hold harmless provision. An estimated 16 million people will take a financial hit from spiking Part B premiums unless Congress takes action. They include:.Premium subsidies are actually advance federal tax credits and available only for people buying their own insurance on the insurance exchanges. You qualify if your income is less than ,960 for individuals or ,040 for a family of two. Your "modified adjusted gross income" will be used to determine your income. That includes your household's adjusted gross income plus any tax-exempt Social Security, interest and foreign income you have. When you apply, the government will access your most recent tax return to confirm the income data that you report..Keeping the U.S. drug supply chain secure, robust, and resilient is essential for the health and national security, and economic prosperity of the United States during emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic and for the provision of day-to-day health care..These price increases are very likely to block some patients from affording their medication, following instructions for taking the drugs, result in higher costs for treatment in the future because of not taking the prescriptions as directed, and cause higher incidents of additional health issues and death rates..The study, which was conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research, found that a Medicare beneficiary paid 25% of the price of their branded drugs until they reached ,510 in total annual out-of-pocket spending. The patient then fell into the "donut hole" and had to pay for the full cost until they hit ,726, after which they were responsible for a 5% copay..Under current law the Social Security COLA is calculated based on the spending patterns of younger working adults using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. But older consumers spend a bigger portion of their household budgets on healthcare and housing, two categories that have been increasing more rapidly in recent years. "Medicare Part B premiums are the fastest growing cost most retirees will ever have," notes Johnson. "But those costs are not even surveyed under the CPI-W or reflected in today's COLA," she says..A majority of the 54 million senior and disabled Americans who receive Social Security depend on it for at least 50 percent of their total income, and one in three beneficiaries rely on it for 90 percent or more of their total income..Another initiative announced on Monday will improve the quality and safety requirements for nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities. The new rule proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will update the standards that have been in place for nearly twenty-five years. According to the administration, it will "improve quality of life, enhance person-centered care and services for residents in nursing homes, improve resident safety, and bring these regulatory requirements into closer alignment with current professional standards.".Advisor editor Mary Johnson estimates that using the chained CPI would cut lifetime Social Security benefits by about 7% over 25 years. New retirees with an average benefit of ,100 in 2010 would receive about ,634 less over a 25-year retirement period. "The financial impact is deceptive, appearing small at first," says TSCL Executive Director, Shannon Benton, "But the cuts compound over time, growing deepest when seniors are the oldest and sickest. By the time seniors are in their late 80's or 90's, when they are most likely to have chronic health problems, monthly benefits would be about 5 lower using the chained CPI."