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Here are the numbers: From 2007 to 2018, list prices on 602 medicines rose by 159%, or 9% per year. However, after accounting for rebates and discounts, net prices for the same drugs increased by 60%, or 4.5% per year."."But the evidence on whether Biogen's treatment, called aducanumab, is effective is, at best, mixed; the FDA approved it this week over the objections of its own advisory committee. And with a preliminary announced price of nearly ,000 annually per patient, covering the treatment could cost upward of 0 billion a year, mostly to Medicare, which would almost double the program's drug spending. Patients themselves could be on the hook for thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs.".Under growing pressure to reduce the federal debt, Congress is considering a new Medicare proposal that would shift the risk of rising costs that outpace spending targets set by the government to seniors and the disabled. The proposal comes from a key recommendation of President Obama's Fiscal Commission..According to a recent nation-wide survey conducted by The Senior Citizens League, almost one-third of older taxpayers, 30 percent, say they itemize deductions for healthcare costs, and about 56 percent say that a portion of their Social Security benefits are taxable. "Taxpayers who may be postponing needed medical or dental services, getting glasses, or filling expensive prescriptions may want to consider doing so before the end of the year, in order to maximum the medical expense deduction in 2018," Johnson says..Minor or disabled child's benefit based on a living or a deceased parent's account..Low-income seniors, including about one-quarter of all Notch Babies, may be feeling the effects of the expiration of federal stimulus funding for Medicaid that ended recently. The recession drove up Medicaid enrollment sharply, but the federal government stepped in with extra funding to help states cover the costs. Increased enrollment and decreased funding have led states to eliminate some benefits and increase the co-payments they charge..Support Grows for CPI-E Act.TSCL's review of the Totalization Agreement and related documents raises a number of significant questions. For example, no new estimates of the cost of the agreement to the Social Security Trust Fund were released to TSCL..Get the provider's name and any identifying number. If the agent asks "Who am I speaking with?" answer with your own question. First ask the caller for the name of their company and the phone number, "in case you get cut off." You can give a first name but avoid giving out any actual personal information like your Social Security or Medicare number, full name, date of birth and address.