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Senators Urge Action on Drug Prices.Take a Monthly Poll!.An estimated 39 million Medicare beneficiaries spend up to 29 percent of their Social Security benefits on healthcare costs, according to a new survey by The Senior Citizens League. "That's a huge chunk of one's household budget, and chances are that many of those people are paying too much for premiums, deductibles, and out of pocket costs," says Mary Johnson a Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League. "One of the best financial moves that Medicare beneficiaries can make is to review health and drug plan coverage and compare options during Medicare's Fall Open Enrollment Period, which starts October 15 and runs through December 7, 2021," Johnson says. "For many people, it could potentially save hundreds of dollars, making the difference between having to split pills or going without, versus to covering all prescriptions and still winding up with a little cash left over," says Johnson, who helps her friends and family with the task..Before 2020 came to an end, a new forecast from the Congressional Budget Office confirmed that Medicare's Part A Hospital Insurance trust fund is running out of money two years earlier than previously expected. The CBO's forecast indicates that there will be insufficient funds to cover all Part A benefits beginning in 2024 - less than 3 years from now..Even when patients do seek treatment at a hospital mainly staffed by doctors in their insurance plans, they might wind up being treated by an out-of-network specialist. Worsening the problem, insurers have narrowed their networks of preferred doctors over the years in hopes of steering patients away from hospitals to lower-cost outpatient facilities and doctors..A new analysis from The Senior Citizens League of 12 frequently - prescribed drugs illustrates that Medicare recipients frequently overpay for their medications. "Because Medicare doesn't negotiate drug prices there are wild swings in prices between Part D drug plans," says Mary Johnson, The Senior Citizens League's Medicare and Social Security policy analyst. The difference in cost for the same drug between drug plans can be in the thousands of dollars for the most expensive drugs, and hundreds of dollars for more common prescriptions. Since the start of Medicare Part D in 2006, Johnson has volunteered to help friends and acquaintances shop for Part D plans..Medicare has recently made revisions to its payment rules, but those changes do not drop the three day of inpatient care for nursing home coverage, or require hospitals to tell patients when they are getting observation care. Legislation has been introduced in Congress that would count observation stays as part of the three hospital days required for nursing home coverage..Social Security is a promise that the federal government has made to its citizens. It is a promise on which millions of Americans rely on, and one that needs to be there for them when they retire. I am proud to sponsor H.R. 141, and I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in any capacity available, to ensure that we keep the promises we made to our public-sector employees..That is the bad news.