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Other Medicare costs climbed as well, the Part B deductible, and out-of-pocket costs charged by doctors and for other services. Barbara's prescription drug plan bumped her medication to a higher formulary tier and her blood pressure medication that used to have zero copay now costs .00 per month. And after recent years of so much extreme weather, homeowner's insurance is now one of her fastest - growing costs..Ask whether you are an inpatient or outpatient: If admitted to a hospital, it's highly important that you, or your designated caregiver find out immediately whether you are being admitted to the hospital as an inpatient or an outpatient. Even if you are admitted as an inpatient, the hospital can switch you to observation status, but the hospital is required to notify you..Congresswoman Cheri Bustos represents Illinois' 17th Congressional District. She lives in East Moline with her husband, Gerry. They have three grown sons..Permanent Cuts to Payroll Tax would Devastate Social Security/Medicare.The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is expected to appear on the House floor for a vote by November 16th the day before lawmakers adjourn for an eleven-day holiday recess. In the meantime, Republicans in the Senate are working on their own version that would likely keep the medical expense deduction intact. At the time of writing this week's update, the text of the bill had not yet been released, but a conceptual draft from the Senate Finance Committee is expected before Friday, November 10th..Opportunity to utilize new technologies such as telemedicine that bring health care to those in rural communities..Two powerful Senators from the President's party have also discussed this issue. According to the same report, the number two Republican in the Senate, John Thune of South Dakota has said, "We've got to fix that. It's going to take presidential leadership to do that, and it's going to take courage by the Congress to make some hard votes. We can't keep kicking the can down the road. I hope in a second term, he is interested," Thune said of Trump. "With his leadership, I think we could start dealing with that crisis. And it is a crisis.".Prices charged for the category of drugs known as "specialty medications" are exploding so quickly that they're now a key source of concern for both consumers and Congress. Specialty drugs include those used to treat cancer, multiple sclerosis and rare health conditions. Spending on these drugs under Medicare almost quadrupled in recent years, rising from .7 billion in 2010 to .8 billion in 201On the other hand, spending on the same drugs under Medicaid, the program that provides healthcare for low-income Americans, grew much more slowly over the same period, rising from .8 billion to .9 billion..While the legislation made some changes to Social Security and did not cut benefits of any current retirees, it did end a complicated benefit claiming strategy known as "file and suspend" for people very close to retirement. Although the legislation closes an unintended "loophole," the strategy was one of the few means married couples had to maximize their payouts. A similar provision was contained in Obama's 2015 fiscal year budget and was estimated to cut Social Security costs by as much as .5 billion annually.