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The Notch continues because Congress has yet to enact legislation to correct it. Notch Reform has been a highly contentious issue. In 1994 the director of the GAO testified to the Commission on the Social Security Notch saying that the Social Security Trust Fund would not have built up adequate surplus "had notch legislation been enacted at an earlier date." Over those same ten years, however, from 1995 through 2004, the federal government used more than .4 trillion in surplus Social Security revenues that could have been used to pay Notch reform benefits to fund other government spending..The change was designed to schedule certain holidays so that workers had several long weekends throughout the year, but it was opposed by those who believe that those holidays should be celebrated on the dates they actually commemorate..In addition, it would close Medicare Part D's "doughnut hole" two years earlier than under current law, and it would require drug manufacturers to provide new rebates to low-income beneficiaries. If adopted, the plan would also increase transparency in the prescription drug market by requiring manufacturers to publicly disclose the costs of research and development, discounts, and other data that determines drug pricing. In an attempt to increase competition within the drug market, it would also prohibit anti-competitive deals, reduce the period of market exclusivity for brand-name manufacturers from twelve years to seven, and eliminate rules that extend market exclusivity when manufacturers make minor changes to products..On Monday, the Social Security and Medicare Trustees reported on the financial standing of both programs. According to the six Trustees, Social Security and Medicare are worse off than they were just one year ago. Social Security's combined OASDI Trust Funds will reach exhaustion in 2033, three years earlier than last year's report projected. Medicare's Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will face insolvency in 2024, the same date that was projected last year. However, the program's actual costs are expected to exceed estimates since the Trustees could not account for the costly "doc fix," which Congress will likely vote for at the end of this year..In the coming days and weeks, TSCL will monitor the AHCA's movement very closely, and we will continue to advocate against provisions of the bill that would jeopardize the health of older Americans. For progress updates, follow TSCL on Twitter or Facebook..TSCL Releases Results of 2013 Senior Survey.Recently my mother got a notice from Social Security saying that her income is over the limit, and now she's paying much higher Medicare premiums than last year. Normally her income is modest, but in 2009 we sold her home after she moved into an assisted living facility. Her monthly Part B premium rose from .40 to 1.50. Her Part D coverage had increased by per month and the government tacked on a surcharge of more than doubling the premium that she paid last year. Altogether, my mother's Social Security was reduced by .10 a month! Someone told me this was part of healthcare reform. Why was there no advance notice to allow families to plan for this?.On Thursday, Senate lawmakers passed legislation to suspend the debt ceiling until next spring, fund the government through December 8th, and provide .25 billion in relief to victims of Hurricane Harvey. At the time of writing this week's legislative update, the House had not yet voted on the legislation, but it is expected to pass with bipartisan support by the end of Friday afternoon..also say that if you're healthy, the best time to shop for a policy is your

The Pandemics Impact On Childrens Mental Health
Now, a new fight over the practice has emerged as Health groups and consumer advocates are mounting a lobbying campaign to shape forthcoming federal rules around the ban. These are the same health groups that fought bitterly during the law's drafting about who would pick up the costs they could no longer bill to patients..If the Social Security COLA were based on a more accurate measure of inflation for senior citizens, next year's increase would not be 0.3 percent it would be 2.1 percent according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Do you support legislation that would base the COLA on a more accurate inflation index like the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly?.The following Members of Congress, among many others, will be holding town hall meetings in the days ahead: Reps. Eric Swalwell, Susan Brooks, Gary Palmer, Lamar Smith, Bruce Westerman, Randy Hultgren, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Marc Veasey, and Ed Perlmutter. … Continued

Health Reform Poll Finding Kaiser Health Tracking Poll Future Directions For The Aca And Medicaid View Footnotes
Medicare Part B premiums are expected to stay at 4 per month in 2018, leaving people like Barbara facing a big premium increase. The 4 premium is per month more than she paid this year, and more than what Barbara expects to get from her COLA in 201That means her Part B premium will be adjusted again to prevent reduction in her benefits. As much as that protection is appreciated, Barbara is frustrated about high Medicare premium costs after years of low or no COLA growth. "It's been 36 months since I've had any raise in my net operating Social Security, but my actual household costs continue to go up," Barbara says. "This isn't fair to retirees," she adds..TSCL will keep a close eye on the negotiations as they evolve in the coming weeks, and we will encourage lawmakers to avoid another government shutdown. For updates, visit the Legislative News section of our website, or our new account on Twitter..The TSCL poll found seniors were closely split over the two other leading approaches to address the disability program's solvency. Forty-eight percent favored tightening Social Security's disability eligibility requirements and conducting more annual eligibility reviews to reduce fraud. Fifty-one percent favor requiring high wage earners to pay Social Security taxes on all of their incomes. "TSCL believes that the only way Congress will forge an agreement is through bipartisan efforts that use a combination of the two approaches," Cates states. What do you think about issues affecting seniors? Take a poll. Visit TSCL's website at. … Continued