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"When we raise prices, they mess with people's ability to make good decisions about their health," said Ziad Obermeyer, co-author of the study and associate professor of health policy and management at the University of California at Berkeley. "Those decisions lead to more people dying - health costs need to be priced into these cost-sharing policies.".One of the biggest traps to determining Medicare premiums based on income is how the government defines "high income." Social Security's rules can snag even modest-income people. This can happen when a home is sold or when converting retirement accounts. One-time capital gains can put seniors over the Medicare income thresholds. The higher Medicare premiums reduce monthly Social Security benefits for an entire year. Should your mother's income in 2010 return to more modest levels she won't have to pay the means test premium surcharges and her Social Security benefit should return to more normal levels next year..and puts the coverage of low-income older adults who receive Medicaid in jeopardy, including the majority of the nation's nursing home patients.".If you have not been offered affordable insurance through your employer, you are not receiving Medicare, and you purchase your own health insurance coverage, you may be among those who have the most to gain from shopping for health insurance on the new health insurance exchanges. Depending on your income, you may be eligible for new premium subsides that would cover part of the cost of your health insurance premiums. The exchanges are now open for comparing health insurance coverage that becomes effective January 1, 2014..They don't mind paying for Social Security because they value it for themselves..This year's Trustees Reports show that both programs face modest financial challenges that can be addressed by Congress with minor reforms. The Senior Citizens League supports the passage of legislation like the Social Security 2100 Act or the Social Security Expansion Act, both of which would strengthen the Social Security program's finances responsibly, without cutting benefits for current or future retirees. In addition, we hope Congress will pass legislation to bring down prescription drug costs in the Medicare program. Requiring Part D drug price negotiation would save billions of dollars for both the federal government and Medicare beneficiaries..If adopted, H.R. 448 would provide for the negotiation of lower covered Part D drug prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries and the establishment of a formulary by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under Medicare Part D..Protection of the Social Security Trust Fund Ensuring that the program's assets are locked out of the general budget..If signed into law, the Notch Fairness Act would provide modest compensation to Notch babies, or those individuals who receive lower Social Security benefits because they were born between 1917 and 192TSCL feels that this inequity was brought about by the Social Security Act Amendments that were signed into law in 197Just years before they were set to retire, these individuals learned that they would have significantly lower benefits than originally anticipated. TSCL strongly supports the Notch Fairness Act, which would provide Notch babies with either a ,000 lump-sum payment or an increased monthly benefit.