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Majorities reported that:.The difference in drug prices between the two programs is due to two reasons. Under Medicare Part D, the government isn't negotiating drug costs on behalf of beneficiaries, and Part D has no cap on out-of-pocket spending for prescription drugs. The lack of a cap acts as a perverse incentive for drug makers and drug plans to get beneficiaries to use the most expensive drugs, because Medicare reimburses drug plans 80% of the cost in the final catastrophic phase of coverage. The higher the cost of the drug, the more drug plans receive from Medicare. Medicare patients who rely on such medications could owe thousands of dollars out-of-pocket every year for a single drug, even when their Part D plan covers the drug..If you own a pet and have been to the vet lately, the bill may have taken a big bite out of your budget. Like human healthcare, the cost of vet services is growing several times faster than inflation. But unlike human healthcare, the cost of vet services has been growing even faster than the cost of medical services from your doctor 68% faster in 2013 alone. And although you may have Medicare or some other type of health insurance for yourself, chances are you don't have health insurance for your pet meaning you foot 100% of the vet bills..It is far easier for physicians than hospitals to opt out of taking Medicare patients. Most hospitals must accept them since they rely on Medicare payments to fund inpatient stays, doctor training and other functions..Alexandria, VA leading proposal to temporarily fix the looming insolvency of the Social Security disability trust fund by reallocating payroll taxes has virtually no support among seniors, according to a new poll by The Senior Citizens League. Less than one percent of seniors polled said shifting revenues from the Social Security retirement trust fund to pay disability benefits was the best way to fix the disability program's financing. "TSCL believes this 'band aid' approach will not be quietly tolerated this time around," says TSCL Chairman Ed Cates. "Today's senior voters have clear preferences for how they think lawmakers should address the disability program's funding shortfalls - reallocation of payroll taxes from the trust fund that pays retirement benefits is not one of them," Cates states.."The 6.7 percent increase in the Part B premium is the largest since 2006 for a year in which a COLA is payable," Johnson says. There have been bigger jumps in Part B premiums as recently as 2016 and 2017, but those were two years in which there was no or almost no COLA paid. This situation can cause unusually high Part B premium spikes..But in 2017, if your AGI remains ,000, you could deduct only allowable medical expenses over 10% of your AGI, or ,000. If you again had medical expenses of ,000, you would only be able to deduct ,000. In this example you you would pay taxes on an additional ,250..partnership programs available in several states..However, that all depends on the development of a vaccine that proves to be effective. Dr. Anthony Fauci believes that the Food and Drug Administration will approve a vaccine if it only works 50% of the time.