The Republicans say that is a form of government price controls and interferes with the free market. That's why Majority Leader McConnell refuses to bring the Grassley-Wyden bill up for debate in the Senate. That bill differs in how it would lower drug prices but Senator McConnell opposes it because it would, in his opinion, still interfere with the free market and also because health care will be a big issue in the elections this year..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 number of people who rely on Social Security for 90% or more of their income is growing. In 1976 one in four Social Security recipients relied on Social Security for most of their income, today one in three do. "Those who do rely on Social Security for most, or all, of their income are living very close to the poverty level," Cates says. The average Social Security benefit in 2014 was only ,304 for the year. That's just 18% above the U.S. poverty level - ,670 for a household of one..Nearly two-thirds of the spending on prescription drugs by older Americans is for out-of-pocket costs that include deductibles, co-pays and co-insurance. Since the start of Medicare Part D in 2006, out-of-pocket costs grew 188% or roughly 16% per year by the end of 2017, far exceeding the growth in Social Security benefits, that averaged just 1.9% per year over the same period..TSCL will keep a close eye on the negotiations as they evolve in the coming weeks, and we will encourage lawmakers to avoid another government shutdown. For updates, visit the Legislative News section of our website, or our new account on Twitter..Representative John Garamendi introduced H.R. 1553 on March 6, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Ways and Means..In a separate report, the CDC responded to concerns about deaths being misattributed to Coved-1The agency took a close look at death certificates, finding that most that listed Covid-19 also named other contributing problems. They included conditions such as diabetes, known to increase the danger of severe disease, or conditions such as pneumonia that occurred in the chain of events leading to the deaths..The adjuvanted flu vaccine is made with MF59 adjuvant, an additive that can create a stronger immune response to vaccination. In a recent review of multiple vaccine trials, older adults who received a MF59-adjuvated vaccine had a significantly higher immune response than those who received a standard flu vaccine, The adjuvanted vaccine was available for the first time in the United States during the 2016-2017 flu season. Learn more about adjuvanted flu vaccine here..For a big eye-opener on how illegal immigrants can become entitled to Social Security under current law and for information on Social Security's totalization agreement with Mexico, read Social Security Benefits For Noncitizens, from the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, Publication No. RL32004.
