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The Obama Administration and proponents of Obamacare have continued to downplay the cancellations of the health insurance of 4.7 million individual policy-holders who received notices that our polices would be ending in 2014 because they didn't comply with the new healthcare law. I was able to temporarily renew my so-called "junk policy." I wanted to keep it because my deductible is 50% lower than the lowest deductible found on any comparable policy in my area on the exchange, and my current plan has a much less restrictive provider network. Most importantly my premium is about 60% lower than I would pay on the exchange, that's after the subsidy..A new bill was introduced in the Senate this week that would lower costs for Americans with diabetes and other chronic diseases who have high-deductible health plans. This legislation would not affect seniors who are covered by Medicare, but it could be very helpful for seniors who are under 65 and still working and who only have high-deductible health insurance. Authored by Sens. John Thune and Tom Carper, the bill, called the Chronic Disease Management Act, would lower health care costs by allowing high-deductible health plans to provide chronic disease prevention services - including insulin for diabetes - to plan enrollees before they reach their plan deductible..According to TSCL's 2017 Senior Survey, 8% of survey respondents said that their benefits have been withheld by Social Security due to excess earnings. Unless you have a terminal illness and are not expected to live very long, we strongly recommend that you consider delaying the start of your Social Security benefit until you are 66 or older when you will be eligible for the full, unreduced amount. To get the maximum, consider working until age 70 if you can. Your benefit will grow by 8% per year if you do..The Senior Citizens League is pleased that lawmakers acted swiftly and responsibly to avert a government shutdown and an unprecedented default on the federal debt. Failing to do so could have resulted in delayed Social Security checks and reimbursements for health care providers who treat Medicare patients. Lawmakers now have until early December to negotiate a broader funding bill to keep the federal government operating. For progress updates, follow TSCL on Facebook or Twitter..New study says drug prices really have been increasing.This week, President Obama sent his fiscal 2016 budget blueprint to Congress, and The Senior Citizens League saw one new cosponsor sign on to the Notch Fairness Act..TSCL hopes that most of these people who lost SNAP benefits at least received emergency stimulus payments in 2020 and 2021 to help cover the loss of these benefits. But we are highly concerned that a high COLA could have similar unintended consequences for low income retirees in 2022..TSCL is pleased that lawmakers in Congress are finally making progress on a solution that would give public servants the retirement security they have earned and deserve. The bill currently has more than sixty cosponsors, with support on both sides of the aisle. Following the hearing, TSCL sent a letter to the subcommittee in support of it. In the months ahead, we will encourage lawmakers to sign on to the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act as cosponsors, and we hope to see it signed into law before the end of this year..The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security of 2020, however, suspended the automatic Medicare cuts from taking effect between May 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. "But the legislation extended cuts for an additional year beyond the current expiration date," Johnson notes. "That will mean that Medicare and Medicaid will continue to be subject to automatic cuts until 2030, 10 more years."