Report Section Medicaid Program Integrity And Current Issues Issue BriefInflation, as measured by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' consumer price index, has taken a deep tumble over the past year, meaning older Americans will have to settle for a cost-of-living adjustment of 1.6% in 2020 after getting a 2.8% increase this year..The members of Congress still cling to that particular tradition even though by the time they come back to town in September they have less than a month to complete their work to fund the federal government for the new fiscal year which begins October If they were able to get their work done on time like they used to the August recess would make more sense..Medicare is trying to nudge people towards using less expensive older drugs, as this story describes. Most of us jump at the chance to lower our drug costs whenever we can, but sometimes the alternative may not work as well. If this happens to you, I strongly suggest that you take the letter from Medicare and show it to your doctor. I'm willing to bet your doctor won't be pleased to see Medicare "prescribing" other drugs for his or her patients. … Continued
Report Section Medicare Advantage Hospital Networks How Much Do They Vary DiscussionEliminating the "cash cliff" that hits when a disabled beneficiary earns more than ,090 in any given month and is immediately cut off from benefits. The cash cliff serves as a workforce disincentive and could be addressed by simply adopting the method used in the retirement program, where monthly benefits are reduced by for every in earnings over ,310, thus providing an improved earning opportunity..Improve work incentives and encourage disabled beneficiaries who improve to return to work. Current disability rules restrict what disabled beneficiaries can earn, which serves as a disincentive to those who are capable of re-entering the workforce. TSCL favors adopting rules that are consistent with those of the retirement and survivors program, which allows people to earn ,310 per month before benefits are reduced..table-1 … Continued