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PBMs continue to leave American consumers and pharmacists in the dark about how their operations could be contributing to high prices. But to begin shedding light on the black box of prescription drug negotiations, I introduced the Public Disclosure of Drug Discounts Act. My legislation would require PBMs to publicly report their aggregate rebates, discounts, and other price concessions. Getting this information is a first step towards tackling the high cost of prescription drugs..The 30 percent who are not protected by hold harmless include:.When you simply claim benefits at age 66, Social Security will "deem" you eligible for both your own retirement benefit, and an ex spouse benefit. You receive your own benefit first, and the balance that you are eligible for as a divorced spouse would make up the difference. But by claiming at 66 you loose the advantage of delayed retirement credits that can boost your benefit by 8% per year from full retirement age to age 70..To determine if a portion of the taxpayer's Social Security benefits are taxable, half of Social Security benefits are added to the adjusted gross income, plus any tax - exempt interest, and certain other tax - exempt income. "Few people today think of an adjusted gross income of as little as ,000 -,000 as 'substantial' income," Johnson says. To calculate the taxable portion of benefits, taxpayers can find a worksheet in IRS publication 915..As of June 30th, the fate of the Senate's repeal and replace healthcare bill remains uncertain. The legislative in the Senate has avoided full bipartisan committee consideration and open hearings. We urge you to contact your Members of Congress and tell them NO to Medicaid cuts..Lifting the maximum taxable wage cap so that wealthy individuals pay Social Security taxes on more of their income. Currently, annual income over 8,500 is not subject to the payroll tax..Note any other relevant information and then hang up..Since you were born in 1954, however, you qualify to use a "restricted application" strategy to maximize your benefits at full retirement age. Waiting just two more years could significantly boost lifetime Social Security income. People born after 1954 may no longer use this strategy, so consider this:.The last time the Medicare Part A Trust Fund was forecast to become insolvent was in 200At the time, the Part A Trust Fund was forecast to become insolvent by 201Lucky for us that never happened - in 2017 at least. Congress enacted the 2010 Affordable Care Act which changed Medicare taxes in two ways. It added a 0.9% surtax to the amount of Medicare payroll taxes paid by high earning individuals with wages over 0,000. This was on top of the 1.45% that workers currently pay on their wages. A second provision affecting the more affluent, imposed a 3.8% tax on a portion of net investment income. Estates and trusts can also be subject to this tax.