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The House of Representatives, on the other hand, has passed 10 of the 12 funding bills that are needed, with only the Homeland Security and Legislative branch funding bills left. Because there is so little time left before the start of the new fiscal year there is the real possibility there could be a government shutdown right before the November election..TSCL encourages its members and supporters to attend these events and to ask questions of their elected officials about important Social Security and Medicare issues, like the following four….may tend to lower your tax bill later, by reducing the required minimum distribution amount that you must take in order to avoid tax penalties after age 70 ½. Large required minimum distributions could also trigger taxes on up to 85% of your Social Security benefits in addition to a surcharge on your Medicare Part B and Part D premiums..I have been investigating the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs for some time. During my investigation, I have been contacted by a huge range of people - patients, doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers - all warning about massive price increases of certain medications. They gave me example, after example, of drug prices that have been jacked up repeatedly - with no apparent justification, and with no evident link to any increases in the costs of manufacturing these drugs..Despite these obstacles, Subcommittee Members were relentless in their requests for CMS to reform the system. A frustrated Chairman Herger stated, "To date, CMS has offered little beyond excuses and questionable reports. If CMS does not responsibly act, then Congress will require them to." Trenkle closed the hearing with an agreement to provide the Subcommittee with an updated list of options and cost estimates by the beginning of next year. TSCL will continue to monitor any movement on this important issue..On Tuesday, with a vote of 244-154, lawmakers in the Housed approved legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act's controversial Medicare cost-cutting board..The non - partisan Kaiser Family Foundation estimated that, if 500,000 of the roughly 6 million Americans with Alzheimer's are prescribed Aduhelm, total Medicare spending on this one drug, for one year, would be nearly billion. This would far exceed the spending on any other drug covered by Medicare Part B, or Part D, in 201Medicare spending for all Part B drugs was billion in 201What's more the estimated billion does not include the cost of any associated care. The drug can cause some people temporary brain swelling or small bleeding spots on the brain and requires pricey magnetic resonance imaging scans to monitor treatment..Two Key Medicare Bills Gain Support.Also this week, two new cosponsors signed on to Rep. Allyson Schwartz's Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act. Reps. Tim Walz and Eliot Engel signed on, bringing the cosponsor total up to twenty-six.