If you require a non-formulary drug, for which there is no acceptable alternative, your doctor can ask your Medicare drug plan for a Formulary Exception, a type of Coverage Determination that would add the drug to your Part D plan coverage. If approved, you would be able to purchase your medication at the lower plan co-insurance and receive discounts if or when you reach the Part D doughnut hole..This year, more than 50% of Social Security beneficiaries paid taxes on their benefits, even though many of them only made twice the federal poverty level in income. Do you believe this is fair, and if not, what should be done about it?.The Bipartisan Policy Center points out in a recent blog, that each of these sources of revenues is negatively impacted by high unemployment. When people are out of work, no payroll taxes are withheld from earnings. A portion of Social Security benefits is taxable when a Social Security recipient has an income higher than ,000 or ,000 for a couple filing jointly. But the coronavirus recession has impacted both earnings from jobs and the value of retirement accounts, so that fewer retirees will meet the income thresholds that make their benefits taxable this year. Finally, the Federal Reserve has responded to the recession by cutting interest rates, which means that the yields on the bonds held by the Social Security Trust Funds are smaller and will provide lower interest income. A recession also causes a higher number of new claims when older workers are forced to retire earlier than planned, raising costs in the short term..Finally, the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act gained one new cosponsor in Representative Jim Langevin, bringing the total up to thirty-two. If signed into law, H.R. 242 would reduce costs for older Americans by requiring the federal government to negotiate lower Part D prescription drug prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries..Notch Bulletin: Why were we singled out? I turn 84 this year and am having problems making ends meet. Still, I'm very interested in NOTCH reform. Why were we singled out for less Social Security ?.Many other Democrats on Capitol Hill including President Obama seemed to share his concerns. However, since the budget blueprint is a resolution and not a bill, it will not require the signature of the President, and each of the proposals that appear in it including the repeal of the ACA and the cuts to Medicare and Medicaid will require the passage of separate legislation..Congress recently ended two Social Security claiming strategies that helped couples maximize their retirement income. The strategies being eliminated allowed individuals to claim a spousal benefit while their own retirement benefits continued to grow. The "file and suspend" option is no longer available for people who will be younger than age 66 on April 30, 201Those older than age 66 on that date are grandfathered in and still able to use the claiming strategy. If you and your husband won't be 66 until later in the year, your husband would not be able to file and suspend as planned..Alexandria, VA little-known file maintained by the Social Security Administration suggests that significant long-term costs are associated with immigration reform, according to a new report released today by The Senior Citizens League. The report examines data from the Social Security Earnings Suspense File, which has received 161.7 million suspicious W2s from 1990 through 2011 totaling over trillion in wages. The suspicious W2s have names, Social Security numbers, or both, that don't match the Social Security Administration's records - which occurs when undocumented immigrants use fake or fraudulent Social Security numbers to work..Congressional Recess Begins

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While economists are still sorting out the reason for the fall in inflation, I recently asked what you have observed in the way of prices. Are the goods and services on which you typically spend most of your budget really falling - or are those prices actually going up?.The proposal would potentially help those enrolled in Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage plans, particularly in cases where a drug is not covered by the individual's plan or, as a less-expensive alternative, when the cost of importing a drug is lower than the co-pay for purchasing the medication with Part D plan coverage. Proponents of importation point out that, over the long-term, increased competition from imported drugs could pressure drug companies to reduce their prices in the U.S. and thus help reduce costs for other drugs you may take..As a nation, we should want young adults and workers from all walks of life to aspire to serve their communities and become public servants. However, policies like these only discourage citizens from becoming teachers, firefighters, and public health workers. … Continued

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The problem is well known, but so far Congress has taken no action to address it. The Medicare Trustees have for years described in their annual report how rising Medicare costs will take an ever-growing portion of Social Security benefits. They estimate that Medicare Part B and Part D premiums, as well as cost sharing for both programs, currently equals just 24 percent of the level of the average Social Security benefit. But that estimate does not include many of the typical Medicare costs that most retirees actually have, and thus understates the scope of the problem. The findings based on your participation in TSCL's annual Senior Survey is proof of that..Trustees Release Annual Review of Trust Funds.I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail. … Continued

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