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"Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, health care professionals will reportedly spend less time filling out paperwork and more time focusing on delivering the best care for patients," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius..Have health insurance coverage. If you are under the age of 65 and didn't have health insurance for some or part of 2014 you may have to pay a tax penalty. For people who don't have Medicare or Medicaid, the penalty for not having coverage is the greater of 1% of your annual income, or The penalty is rising in 2015 to the greater of 2% or 5 per person..The main point is that this program would be limited in scale, and only available in certain types of plans, which means only in certain areas of the country. The premiums of these plans would be higher for all enrollees due to the capping of the cost of insulin to the patient, but not actually lowering the cost of insulin overall. That means the supplemental insurance plan would still be paying the full cost of insulin that is charged by the drug companies. To pay for that, the insurance companies would likely increase the costs of their Medicare supplement plans to all who are covered, not just those who are diabetic..This week, one new cosponsor Rep. John Fleming signed on to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher's No Social Security for Illegal Immigrants Act. The total is now up to twenty-four. If signed into law, Rep. Rohrabacher's bill would prevent Social Security credits from being earned by work done illegally. Currently, those who receive "green cards" or work authorization may file a claim for Social Security benefits based on all earnings even earnings from jobs where they used stolen, invalid, or fraudulent Social Security numbers. TSCL believes that this practice must be put to an end in order to protect the integrity of the Social Security program, and we were pleased to see support grow for it this week..And, in case you had any doubts about why you need that Medicare Advantage plan in the first place, here are the general types of costs if you have Medicare Advantage plan coverage compared with having traditional Medicare with a Medigap supplement..One witness, Scott Serota, President and CEO of the BlueCross BlueShield Association, suggested a gradual shift from the current fee-for-service system toward a series of new payment models that would allow for geographic variability. Another witness, David Bronson, President of the American College of Physicians, suggested a patient-centered medical home model, where each patient would choose a physician with a specific team of caregivers. He explained that his model would result in better coordinated care for seniors..If you receive a call claiming to be your utility company and feel pressured for immediate payment or personal information, hang up the phone and call the customer service number on your utility bill..TSCL will continue to keep a close eye on the evolving immigration negotiations, and we remain hopeful that in the very near future, lawmakers will consider loophole-closing legislation that would prevent Social Security credits from being earned by work done illegally. For updates on the discussions, visit the Legislative News section of our website..Rep. Matt Cartwright introduced H.R. 4445 on April 10, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce.