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however, my client was able to save ,080 in uncovered out-of-pocket drug costs.If you or a family member have limited income and have trouble paying Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket costs, Medicare Savings Programs may help. If you qualify, you may get help paying for your Medicare premiums and deductibles and coinsurance if your income and savings meet the limits. In addition, you automatically qualify for Extra Help paying the costs of Medicare prescription drug coverage..In 2012, the GPO reduced by two-thirds the Social Security benefits received by nearly 600,000 surviving spouses who also collect a government pension. Nine out of 10 public employees affected by the GPO lose their entire spousal benefit, even though their spouse paid Social Security taxes for many years..Why is it so Hard to Lower Prescription Drug Prices?.Open Enrollment on the new health exchanges starts November 15 and will run for about one month. But even after a year of technical problems and significant repair efforts, the Government Accountability Office recently warned Congress that the federal exchange may continue to have more enrollment problems. Nevertheless, due to the high cost of insurance and potential tax repercussions, TSCL recommends that you start early and be persistent about finding your best plan..The flowerpots aren't watered..If enacted, this bill would address one of the key areas currently missing from our prescription drug market - competition. Just as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is already able to negotiate lower drug prices for its patients, Medicare should be given the freedom to do the same..The survey found that rather than keep the Social Security status quo, 71% of respondents prefer the following package of changes:.Full Report including study methodology.

Health Reform Issue Brief Implementing New Private Health Insurance Market Rules 2

"The government now finds itself trying to figure out how to satisfy patients who desperately need help, even though scientists think this particular treatment lacks strong evidence for its effectiveness and policy experts warn it is setting up a budgetary nightmare for Medicare in the future.".On Thursday, the Ways and Means Committee held a long overdue hearing on the Social Security 2100 Act. The bill was introduced by Congressman John Larson in January of this year. A companion bill was introduced in the Senator by Senator Richard Blumenthal. If adopted these bills would strengthen and reform Social Security by providing beneficiaries with a 2 percent benefit increase, would base the cost-of-living on the CPI-E, create a new minimum benefit set 125 percent of the poverty line and cut taxes for beneficiaries. Increase costs to the program would be paid for my applying the payroll tax to income over 400,000 and gradually increase the payroll tax rate to 7.4 percent..By Jessie Gibbons, Legislative Director … Continued

Health Finding Long Term Solutions For Long Term Care

The primary means of financing the benefits of the nation's 61 million Social Security recipients is a 6.2% payroll tax that is paid by employees and matched by employers - a total of 12.4%. Current law, however, imposes a limit on the amount of wages that are taxed for Social Security purposes, which is 7,200 in 201"Because Social Security benefits are based on wages, the Social Security cap on earnings also limits the initial retirement benefit that higher earners receive when they retire," Johnson explains. "In fact, all Social Security recipients are wrestling with growing income inadequacy as benefits replace a shrinking portion of wages, and this is especially true for those who earn more than the taxable maximum," Johnson says..On Thursday, Senate lawmakers passed legislation to suspend the debt ceiling until next spring, fund the government through December 8th, and provide .25 billion in relief to victims of Hurricane Harvey. At the time of writing this week's legislative update, the House had not yet voted on the legislation, but it is expected to pass with bipartisan support by the end of Friday afternoon..Social Security beneficiaries received a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment this year, but millions of older Americans with low benefits have seen their increases completely offset by higher Medicare Part B premiums. Do you support the Fair COLA for Seniors Act, which would give beneficiaries a more adequate Social Security COLA? … Continued