The Speaker slammed drug companies for the level of stock buybacks and dividends in recent years and argued that cuts to prices will not harm research and development spending given new findings on buybacks..Shop your local farmers' markets, and growers. Until you've sampled just - picked local fruits and vegetables, you really haven't tasted produce at its peak. Not only will you find better quality and better tasting produce, often grown organically, you'll find better prices too, especially when there's a glut and the grower has limited storage space. August, for example, is your best time to stock up on tomatoes, beans, corn, squash, cucumbers, peppers, melons and eggplant..As was noted in last week's update, the AHCA would reform the current health system and negatively impact older Americans in several ways. It would restructure the Medicaid program, which funds nursing home care for many qualified Medicare beneficiaries. It would base premium subsidies on age instead of income, while allowing private health insurers to charge older Americans five times more than they charge younger folks for their coverage. And it would deplete Medicare's Hospital Insurance Trust Fund by eliminating two revenue sources that the ACA created, creating a funding crisis for the program..A growing number of Medicare beneficiaries are choosing to receive their coverage through private Medicare Advantage plans, rather than traditional Medicare with a Medigap supplement and Part D plan. The choice requires careful evaluation of costs and an understanding of how the prospective Medicare Advantage works, because once you give up your Medigap plan, you probably won't be able to get another one, or if you do, you could be charged significantly more. No matter what you decide, you will still be required to pay the Part B premium..Improve work incentives and encourage disabled beneficiaries who improve to return to work. Current disability rules restrict what disabled beneficiaries can earn, which serves as a disincentive to those who are capable of re-entering the workforce. TSCL favors adopting rules that are consistent with those of the retirement and survivors program, which allows people to earn ,310 per month before benefits are reduced..We will all know if they were able to reach and agreement and get their job done by the end of this coming Friday. However, President Trump's position on this is not clear. While Treasury Secretary Mnuchin has been in on the discussions of the legislation the President has not said where he stands..High-income beneficiaries who pay an income-related surcharge in addition to the basic premium..This week, following a two-day markup, the House Budget Committee advanced a fiscal 2019 budget resolution that would dramatically impact Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid if adopted. The "Budget for a Brighter American Future" includes trillion in spending cuts, and it would balance the budget in nine years..A new study recently found that Social Security benefits have lost 34 percent of their purchasing power since 2000 due to rising costs and inadequate COLAs. Do you support the bipartisan CPI-E Act, which would make the COLA more fair and adequate?
