News Summary House Appropriations Subcommittees Approve Fy 2018 State Foreign Operations Sfops And Health Human Services Hhs Appropriations Bills"Medicare is also in the cross - hairs for massive changes," Johnson says. The budget resolution stipulates major changes that would focus Medicare on a system of private insurers, and provide beneficiaries with premium subsidies to shop for their own health insurance. A Congressional Budget Office report has found that similar proposals in the past would shift a growing portion of costs to older Americans. In that 2013 report, the CBO estimated that Medicare beneficiaries' premiums would be about 30 percent higher by 2020 than under current law..By Jessie Gibbons, Legislative Director."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. … Continued
Patient Education Care Of Children Infant And Baby CareA survey conducted by TSCL earlier this year found that 73 percent of people responding strongly oppose a widely debated proposal to cut benefits by switching to a more slowly-growing COLA index. Sixty-five percent, however, strongly favor raising the taxable maximum income cap and requiring high income workers with wages of more than 7,000 to pay taxes on all earnings..Prior to 1984 Social Security benefits weren't taxed, and when the tax on benefits was first enacted in 1983, Congress sold it to the public saying it affected "high income" beneficiaries. At that time, only 10% of Social Security beneficiaries paid the tax. But during the 2015 tax season, an estimated 56% of Social Security beneficiary households will owe federal income taxes on part of their benefit income according to the Social Security Administration..Congress Should Work Together to Strengthen Social Security … Continued
