TSCL will be keeping a close eye on this subject because we know that so many seniors and their families are desperately hoping there will be some new breakthrough that will effectively treatment Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. But the cost of this drug is so expensive, and it could have a major impact on the Medicare budget that already is in critical financial condition..Senator David Vitter.Washington, DC) An eye - popping new list compiled by The Senior Citizens League indicates that, by late 2020, price increases for many of the expenditures of older Americans far outstripped the modest 1.3 percent cost of living adjustment boost that Social Security recipients start receiving this month. "This list is a snapshot of how COVID-19 affected prices of certain items through the end of November 2020," says Mary Johnson, a Social Security policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League. "There are surprising price aberrations that we haven't seen before," Johnson says. "Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that toilet paper and disinfecting wipes could wind up on our annual list of fastest growing retiree costs," Johnson says..Last year the Senate was a bigger problem when dealing with passing legislation but there still may be hope this year for a bi-partisan bill authored by Senators Ron Wyden and Chuck Grassley. "The bill would cap seniors' drug costs and penalize drugmakers for raising prices too fast - a provision that many Republicans have likened to price controls. It would save the government a projected billion over a decade, far less than the 0 billion-plus under the House negotiation bill," according to Politico..The results of not having a formal leader are apparent. As expert witness Max Richtman of the National Committee to Preserve Social security and Medicare described, disability appeals can take over six hundred days to process and ten thousand people die each year waiting for decisions on their appeals..Ideally the Obama Administration should have the capacity to update consumers' subsidy information. But by late summer, they had not yet gotten that part of the system built. Even if you were to receive the same amount of premium subsidy that you received this year, that's likely to cause you problems. Here's why:.What do you feel are Medicare's major problem areas, and how do you feel they should be addressed?.Firstly, the Senior Security Act will create a Senior Investor Taskforce at the SEC that will exclusively focus on how seniors are being targeted by fraudsters and those who seek to take financial advantage of them. This new Taskforce will identify challenges that senior investors encounter and will identify areas within the SEC or other organizations where senior investors would benefit from changes. The Senior Investor Taskforce will also coordinate with other offices within the Commission and the Elder Justice Coordinating Council. When appropriate, the Taskforce will consult state securities and law enforcement and state insurance regulators to ensure we're all doing as much as we can, at every level of government, to stop this..This week, TSCL announced its support for the Improving Care for Vulnerable Older Citizens through Workforce Advancement Act, which was introduced by Sen. Bob Casey in the Senate, and by Rep. Matt Cartwright in the House. If signed into law, the bill would create six different demonstration projects that would focus on the coordination of care for elderly patients with multiple chronic illnesses. It would put Direct Care Workers such as nursing assistants, home health aides, or personal care aides in advanced roles, and it would test and evaluate different models of care coordination.
