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This week, seven new cosponsors signed on to the Social Security 2100 Act, bringing the total up to eighty-four. The new cosponsors are: Reps. Luis Gutierrez, Marc Veasey, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Chellie Pingree, Joyce Beatty, and Peter DeFazio..In past years, Congress has chosen to allow this cost to shift to the 30 percent beneficiaries who are not held harmless. The total cost increase is spread over far fewer people, instead of all beneficiaries, and those who are not protected pay a much bigger share of Medicare Part B costs. This could happen again for the 2021 premium..While it is true that we must come together to address our budget, we cannot fix our fiscal problems on the backs of our seniors. We also must not use our economic future as a bargaining chip to advance unrelated partisan interests. During my time in Congress I'm proud to fight for Medicare benefits for our next generation of seniors. As we look forward to the next 50 years I am cognizant of some of the challenges facing Medicare. But I also see opportunity:.TSCL's review of the Totalization Agreement and related documents raises a number of significant questions. For example, no new estimates of the cost of the agreement to the Social Security Trust Fund were released to TSCL..The difference in drug prices between the lowest and highest costing plans, can be in the hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars. For brand name and specialty drugs, the most frequent reason that the drug costs so much more in the highest costing plan is lack of coverage. The drug is not listed on the high cost plan's formulary. For example, the lowest cost plan for Sovaldi, a drug used to treat Hepatitis C, charges ,600 in co-insurance. The highest cost drug plan charges 0,800, the full cost of the drug, because Sovaldi is not on the plan's formulary..Genetic testing is not routinely used by doctors to screen for cancer. Here's how the scam works - The "target" might receive automated phone calls, often multiple times a week, or may be approached in-person by a "recruiter." The recruiter, who may present herself as a "certified Medicare counselor," convinces the target to take a genetic test promising that Medicare pays the full cost. The patient, however, often never receives a report, or the report may be incomprehensible..Medicare beneficiaries would still be on the hook for the ,000 that would need to be spent out-of-pocket before the catastrophic coverage even starts. For the average beneficiary, that could take one-third or more of one's entire Social Security income for the year..In the months ahead, TSCL will advocate tirelessly for the Social Security Guarantee Act, and we hope to see it signed into law before the end of the 114th Congress. For updates on its progress, visit the Legislative News section of our website, or follow us on Twitter..After Surgery What Can I Do About Unexpected Bills?