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A third option was introduced by Senator Rand Paul in June. His plan would repeal the SGR and base payments on the same formula that is used to calculate cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security benefits. It would cap annual pay increases for providers at three percent, allowing physicians to practice without the threat of annual reimbursement cuts..Heap's story is part of a major investigative series on Medicare drug fraud, by the independent, non-profit investigative news organization ProPublica. Reporters, using Medicare's own data, were able to identify scores of doctors whose prescribing within Part D followed known patterns of fraud. ProPublica's investigation found that "Medicare's system for pursuing fraud is so cumbersome and poorly run that schemes quickly siphon away millions." The stories are drawing a remarkable reaction from the normally snail-paced Medicare. The agency recently announced plans to better control prescription drug fraud, including new authority to revoke doctors' Medicare enrollment if patterns of abusive prescribing are found.."Pfizer's political action committee alone contributed to 228 lawmakers. Amgen's PAC donated to 218, meaning that each company helped to fund the campaigns of nearly half the lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Overall, the sector donated million..Like all things tax-related, it's important to estimate income accurately. Estimate too low and you may wind up having to repay those premium subsidies in higher taxes. Taking too low a subsidy may mean paying substantially more in premiums, but a bigger tax refund. If you take the tax credit in advance, changes to your income or family size could affect your health insurance subsidies and you will need to report those changes during the year. You can also opt to take a partial subsidy to both lower the premium and avoid repayments if your income fluctuates..On Wednesday, the Social Security and Medicare Trustees released their 2015 reports on the financial outlook of the two programs. At a press briefing, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said: "Today's reports confirm that both Social Security and Medicare are secure today and will remain secure in the years to come. Consistent with previous years, today's reports also show that these programs are facing challenges that need to be addressed.".I was looking forward to saving some money on premiums when I started Medicare. Boy was I surprised when my doctor discovered a new health problem and my out-of-pocket costs jumped instead. How can I budget for this in the future? I'm in a Medicare Advantage plan..Email Sign-up.According to the non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation, in 2020, 99% of Medicare Advantage and drug plans require prior authorization for at least some health services and prescription drugs. Traditional Medicare, on the other hand, does not require prior authorization for the majority of services, but may do so for some Part B drugs administered in doctors' offices, such as chemotherapy treatments. Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans typically use prior authorization for higher cost services, such as inpatient hospital care, high tech diagnostic scans and tests, and more expensive prescription drugs..TSCL is hopeful that lawmakers will find a solution before the end of this month, since a government shutdown could negatively impact Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries. We will continue to keep an eye on the evolving negotiations, and we will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website.