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Again, thank you for participating in the legislative process by signing the petition. It is my hope that you will continue to keep me apprised of your interest in issues important to you as my colleagues and I continue our work during this 113th Congress.While Part D costs are not capped, there is a "catastrophic level" of coverage that kicks in once Part D enrollees spend ,000 of their own money out-of-pocket. Five thousand dollars is just the threshold in 201That threshold is forecast to rise to more than ,000 per year in just eight years. Even worse, the ,000 threshold is just for your covered drugs under Part D. It does not include other out-of-pocket spending for Medicare, such drugs you may receive through Medicare Part B, and all other out-of-pocket costs..When Medicare solvency is under discussion, the focus is often placed on the Medicare Part A Trust Fund, which is primarily financed by payroll taxes. The last time Medicare Part A Trust Fund was forecast to become insolvent was in 200That year, the Medicare Trust Fund was forecast to become insolvent by 201In 2010, Congress enacted the Affordable Care Act which changed Medicare revenues in two ways. It added an additional payroll tax of 0.9% to the 1.45% of Medicare taxes paid by high earning individuals with wages over 0,000. A second provision affecting individuals with this level of income, imposed a new 3.8% tax on a portion of net investment income. Estates and trusts can also be subject to this tax..After repeated refusals over three and a half years, the federal government has released to TREA Senior Citizens League the first known public copy of the Social Security Totalization Agreement with Mexico. The Social Security Administration recently agreed to make the disclosure in response to a lawsuit filed under the Freedom of Information Act by TSCL..Sen. Mark Begich introduced S. 896 on May 8, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Finance..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..May 2007.New TSCL Poll Should Medicare Be Changed?.Fall Congressional Recess Continues