President Trump recently signed an executive order intended to change Medicare by expanding the role of Medicare Advantage - the private insurance alternative to Medicare. Medicare Advantage plans have been growing in popularity in recent years enrolling about one third of the nation's 61 million Medicare enrollees..Medicare considers observation care as outpatient services, even though patients may stay in the hospital for several days. Outpatient care is covered under Medicare Part B not under Part A, which normally covers hospital care. Patients can have co-payments for doctor's fees, and every hospital service. That includes charges for any routine drugs your mother may take for chronic conditions like high cholesterol..Retirees frequently say that their annual cost-of-living adjustment does not adequately keep pace with rising costs. To learn if this is the case, this study, now in its eleventh year, looks at 40 expenditures that are typical for people age 65 and up, comparing the growth in the prices of those goods and services, to the growth in COLAs..The best way to protect against flu and its potentially serious complications is with a flu vaccine. CDC recommends that almost everyone 6 months of age and older get a seasonal flu vaccine each year by the end of October. However, as long as flu viruses are circulating, vaccination should continue throughout flu season, even into January or later..My extra checks are in the computer desk, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of soda I'd been drinking..Under the new policy, illegal immigrants younger than 30 years old, who came to the United States before the age of 16, will be allowed to remain in the country without risk of deportation and to get work permits if they have been law-abiding and meet certain requirements. Although the policy does not grant legal status, work authorization would provide access to Social Security numbers..Buying a car is fraught with pitfalls where anyone must tread carefully and thoroughly sleuth out hidden mechanical and financial defects. Indeed, it sounds as though your brother has been taken for a ride by a predatory auto loan. According to information found an organization that provides help and information about loans and managing debt - predatory lending is any lending practice that convinces a borrower to accept unfair terms through deceptive, coercive, exploitative or unscrupulous actions for a loan that the borrower doesn't need, doesn't want, or can't afford. In recent years, such sub-prime auto loans have soared, and now state and federal agencies are starting to look into some big name lenders who cater to people with less-than-perfect credit records..Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle at Wednesday's hearing expressed their strong interest in addressing the growing DI backlog. In his opening statement, Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson said: "Today, over one million people are waiting for a hearing with a Social Security Administrative Law Judge, and on average these folks will wait around 600 days to get that hearing. That's nearly two years!" He continued, saying: "While not all of them will qualify for DI benefits, all of these people deserve an answer in a timely fashion. And for those who don't qualify for benefits, these long wait times make getting back to work even harder.".Rural practices and patients deserve a better partner in the federal government when it comes to the health of rural America. History has shown that communities that don't have a reliable healthcare facility struggle to maintain their livelihood.