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We are closely watching how the foreign drug index would be structured and evaluating how prices would be adjusted. We are highly concerned that a greater portion of the high cost of these drugs that are administered in doctors offices and clinics could wind up getting shifted to Medicare patients either in the form of higher co-pays and co-insurance, or higher premiums..In her new role as CMS administrator, Verma will report to Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, who has authored several Medicare reform plans in recent years. His proposals would increase the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67 while adopting a "premium support" model, where beneficiaries would be given vouchers from the federal government to purchase private health insurance..In fact, unlike the surtax on high earners, this 3.8% net investment tax was not even a specific provision of Affordable Care Act. It was a provision of a separate bill, the Health Care Education and Reconciliation Act of 2010 which was passed about two days after the Affordable Care Act. By setting up the revenues so that they would flow to the General Fund, Congress by-passed earmarking those revenues for the Medicare Part A or Part B Trust Fund. That also means that, when those revenues are used for other purposes, the Medicare Trust Funds are not earning any interest from the federal government for the use of those funds..The Senior Citizens League believes Congress must address the loss of buying power by adopting the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act. If signed into law, H.R. 1251 would base the COLA on the more fair and adequate CPI-E. Currently, COLAs are based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners, and they fail to keep pace with the inflation experienced by older Americans since goods like gasoline and electronics are weighted more heavily than health care and housing costs..More people than ever face a lower standard of living in retirement, according to a growing number of troubling new studies. There are several reasons why this is occurring:.Social Security coverage to persons who have not worked long enough under the system to draw benefits on their own account is of major significance in the debate to allow individuals to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes into private retirement accounts. As proposed, private Social Security retirement accounts would unlikely be able to provide the extent of coverage the current program now offers..The study examined the increase in costs of 32 key items between 2000 and January 201The items were chosen because they are typical of the costs seniors must bear. Of the 32 costs analyzed, 20 exceeded the COLA. The selected items represent eight categories, weighted by approximate expenditure..Since it was first signed into law over 75 years ago, Social Security has kept tens of millions of senior citizens and disabled Americans of all ages out of poverty and ensured that they could live dignified and independent lives. I believe that the COLA is an essential part of Social Security that must be calculated accurately. That is why I have fought to protect seniors by introducing the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act in successive Congresses. This bill would give our seniors a Social Security COLA that actually reflects their cost of living..The task for the Administration is to figure out how to ensure patients don't unknowingly sign away their new protections, monitor and punish providers who violate the ban, and establish a process for settling disputes, among other complicated considerations. The ban is due to take effect in January.