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The proposal would potentially help those enrolled in Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage plans, particularly in cases where a drug is not covered by the individual's plan or, as a less-expensive alternative, when the cost of importing a drug is lower than the co-pay for purchasing the medication with Part D plan coverage. Proponents of importation point out that, over the long-term, increased competition from imported drugs could pressure drug companies to reduce their prices in the U.S. and thus help reduce costs for other drugs you may take..More than 5 million Social Security recipients with the lowest benefits are unlikely to see any net growth in their monthly checks after deduction of the Medicare Part B premium in 2019, according to a new analysis released by The Senior Citizens League. This will occur despite their receiving the highest cost-of-living adjustment in seven years. Those affected have a gross Social Security benefit of about 5 per month or less before deduction of the Part B premium. According to the analysis, the dollar amount of their Part B premium increase will be more than the dollar amount of their COLA. "This would make the fourth year in a row that this particular group has not seen a boost in their net Social Security benefits after the deduction for Medicare Part B premiums," says Mary Johnson, a Social Security and Medicare policy analyst for the League.\.Social Security checks in 2020 are almost 20 percent lower than they otherwise would be, due to the long term impact of extremely low annual inflation adjustments, according to a new analysis from The Senior Citizens League. This analysis comes as the Social Security Administration announced today that the 2021 cost of - living adjustment COLA will be just 1.3 percent, making it one of the lowest ever paid..In January of 2021, bipartisan legislation, the Social Security Fairness Act, which would eliminate the WEP and the GPO, was introduced by Rep. Rodney Davis. To date, the bill has 136 co-sponsors including BOTH Democrats and Republicans. TSCL strongly endorses this legislation and we encourage you to ask your Representative to support it. Public service employees deserve to get all the Social Security benefits they rightfully have paid for..Physicians have another medication at their disposal for treating diabetes after the Food and Drug Administration has now approved a new long-acting insulin product derived from the established drug Lantus..TSCL survey participants are strongly supportive of legislative proposals that would modestly boost Social Security benefits, with 78 percent supporting the proposal. In addition the survey found that 86 percent support boosting the COLA by tying the annual COLA to the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly, which would tend to provide a modestly higher COLA in most years..Should I Allow My New Health Law Coverage To "Automatically Renew"?.Proponents of Executive Action say it's unlikely that illegals would file a lot of claims for Social Security benefits. People need to work about ten years and meet age eligibility requirements to file a claim for retirement benefits, and most illegal immigrants are young. But the rules for disability benefits are different. Depending on age, young disabled workers could qualify for benefits with as little as 1.5 years of work history. And, under current policies, illegal immigrants who receive a work-authorized Social Security number can become entitled to benefits that could be calculated on earnings from prior work under invalid and fraudulent Social Security numbers..Following the blueprint's release, Sen. Bernard Sanders ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee voiced his concerns, saying: "This budget gives huge tax breaks to billionaires and millionaires while making devastating cuts to education, Medicare, affordable housing, prescription drug coverage, and many other vital investments for the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor … This budget is the Robin Hood principle in reverse. It takes from the poor to give to the rich."