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New Top Official for CMS.John, age 66, is already enrolled in Medicare in 200He pays .40 per month. Because there is no COLA, and the basic Medicare Part B increases, his Part B premium will remain .40 because he's protected by the hold harmless provision. His premium will be adjusted to prevent a reduction in his Social Security in 20His wife Jane is 6She's not eligible to enroll in Medicare Part B until 20Her monthly premium would be an estimated 4 instead of .40. She won't have "hold harmless" protection until 2011..Larry holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Studies from Minnesota State University, Mankato, Minn. In addition, he completed all course work in the Church-State Studies graduate program at Baylor University, Waco, Texas. He has also taken graduate course work at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C..That said, logic says we may be in for some pretty big swings in the prices of certain items - such as gasoline. Especially troubling for everyone are steep increases in the cost of meats, poultry, processed fish and seafood, milk, fruits and vegetables. We are spending a lot more than usual trying to maintain a nutritious diet, and this has been going on for months..But so far Members of Congress haven't received a paycheck. Eric Pianin, a journalist who covers the federal budget for The Fiscal Times, perhaps expressed it best as a "brilliant budget tactic that backfired." The House last March passed a new budget along party lines that would achieve a surplus within ten years, mainly through deep spending cuts and reforms to Medicare, Medicaid and other entitlements. Earlier this spring the Senate took up the challenge and passed a .6 trillion budget that has greatly different priorities for spending and taxes than the budget passed by the House. But neither Senate nor House negotiators have met in conference where the two chambers would negotiate differences and produce a compromise budget agreement..This week, Members of Congress continued to focus on a series of fiscal 2015 appropriations bills including one that would provide funding for the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In addition, The Senior Citizens League announced its support for a new piece of legislation, and two key bills gained cosponsors..7 crucial questions that TSCL believes must be addressed by the candidates about their plans to change Social Security:."Independent analysts think the drug is worth more like ,000, but Medicare has no authority to charge a lower price. Instead, the federal program is likely in effect obligated to cover the new drug now that it has FDA approval. The tools it has to make a determination about whether or not to cover aducanumab and for whom are fraught with legal and ethical risk.".Medicaid currently covers about 60 percent of people in nursing homes. But to qualify, seniors in long-term care are required to "spend down" their life savings to the last ,000 and ,000 before Medicaid covers the bill. That won't apply to people younger than 65 under the new rules. Financial eligibility is based on modified adjusted gross income. Medicaid will no longer count how much applicants have in assets like savings and investments for this group of applicants as long as they aren't in long-term care. While that's likely to help more low-income seniors under 65 qualify for Medicaid, TSCL is concerned that it also opens the program to greater potential for gaming the system and fraud.