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TSCL continues to meet with Members of Congress this year asking them to support provisions that would bar payment of Social Security benefits based on illegal work. Stay up-to-date, sign up for TSCL's e-alerts and e-newsletters..The Internal Revenue Service interpreted the law to allow eligible consumers to receive premium subsidies regardless of whether the exchange was run by their state or by the federal government. Challengers of the law question that interpretation, saying that the law as written clearly directs subsidies to state-run exchanges only. Health law proponents say that lawmakers fully intended that subsidies be offered on all exchanges, regardless of whether they were administered by the states or federal government..Food is one of the top three categories of expenses for most people who rely on Social Security. While the price of gasoline has gone down, food costs, especially meats, have continued to climb. Here are five ways to lower the food bill:.TSCL is working for legislation that would eliminate the one-time gain "means test," and supports efforts that would repeal determination of Medicare benefits based on income. To learn more, please visit..During the nation's recovery from the 2007- 2009 Great Recession, and Troubled Asset Relief Program bailouts, Social Security and Medicare became frequent targets of deficit cut negotiations. Deficit plans included proposals to reduce annual cost-of-living adjustments by tying it to the more slowly growing chained consumer price index. The Budget Control Act of 2011 led to automatic 2% annual Medicare cuts on payments to providers. "That cut affected all Medicare providers, including hospitals, doctors, nursing staff," Johnson observes. "These are very same providers that are now so dangerously strained by the coronavirus pandemic.".This occurred all over the U.S. at the very same time that food prices exploded. On December 21, 2020 the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, for example, announced that as of January of this year, 75,079 SNAP households would see an average reduction of in monthly benefits due primarily to the COLA. Another 118 SNAP cases would close, as increased income pushes those households over the eligibility limit..Medicare's annual Part D Open Enrollment. Case in point: My client had.Providers would have to give patients information on their network status, costs of out-of-network care, options for in-network providers, and other insurance requirements generally 72 hours before an appointment. The notice would have to clearly state that consent is optional, and that the patient could seek care from an in-network provider..Thousands of prescriptions are abandoned at pharmacies each year, often due to high prices. There are several things you can do to bring that cost down to a more manageable level.