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Addressing the Social Security Trust Fund shortfall by increasing both the amount of wages subject to taxation and, increasing the payroll tax rate. The bill would immediately tax wages above 0,000. That threshold would not be adjusted annually, and the current law maximum of 2,900 would continue to increase as scheduled, slowly closing the gap, until all covered earnings would be subject to payroll taxes by 204The bill would raise the payroll tax rate 0.1 percentage point per year until it reached 14.8% - 2.4% higher than today. Currently employees and employers each pay 6.2% for a total of 12.4%..Compare generic costs: You sometimes pay more for common generics using your drug plan, than you would simply by visiting a pharmacy with generic program. Compare the costs first. If the generic saves you money over your normal co-pay, put your drug plan card away and shop at the discount pharmacy. Save your coverage for more expensive prescriptions..Under current law, the Medicare program excludes coverage of most routine and emergency dental care, including cleanings, fillings, root canals, and extractions. As a result, around 70 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are left without comprehensive dental insurance coverage. The Medicare Dental Benefit Act would correct this to ensure that seniors have access to essential health care. Will you cosponsor this important bill?."Caught Up In A Medicare Drug Fraud," Tracy Weber and Charles Ornstein, ProPublica, December 31, 2013..Medicare is currently prohibited from covering most hearing, vision, and dental services, even though millions of seniors are afflicted with age-related hearing loss, low vision, and poor oral health. When left untreated, these conditions often result in serious injuries and complications. What do you feel should be done about this?.What financial actions have you been forced to take over the past 12 months? Please take TSCL's new Retirement Survey and let us know!.Instead, some physicians are experimenting with converting their practices to more lucrative payment models, such as concierge medicine, in which patients pay a fee upfront to retain the doctor. Patients who cannot afford that arrangement may have to search for a new physician..The bill caps the Part B premium increase for next year at the 2020 amount plus 25% of the difference between the 2020 amount and a preliminary amount for 202The preliminary amount would be calculated the same way that it would have been without the bill, but would prevent dramatic increases that may have occurred as a result of Medicare Part B premiums growing when the COLA is so low..During our slow, arduous economic recovery that followed the financial crisis and recession of 2008 and 2009, many government programs, Social Security in particular, were stretched to the limit. A number that made headlines last year was the Social Security Trustees' estimate that the Social Security trust funds would run a billion cash deficit in 20Most of the time when the Social Security trust fund is referred to, we mean two trust funds - the old-age and survivor's insurance trust fund, that pays retirement and widows benefits, and the disability insurance trust fund.