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Medicare Part D discounts in the "doughnut hole." Once both drug plan enrollees and their plan have spent the initial coverage amount, they reach the Part D coverage gap or "doughnut hole." Prior to the Affordable Care Act, seniors paid 100% of drug costs in the doughnut hole, unless they were covered by a plan that provided some gap coverage. Under provisions of the Affordable Care Act, once seniors hit the coverage gap, they get a 50% discount on covered brand name drugs and pay 86% of the plan's costs for covered generic drugs until they spend a total of ,700 for the year. Some plans offer additional coverage for generics during the gap..When it comes to the big drug companies, they do not want limits on the costs of the drugs they manufacture. That is why they make so many campaign contributions..Hospitals are not required to tell patients whether they are inpatients or outpatients, so frequently beneficiaries never learn of their status until after they have been released. If you believe the services your mother received should have been billed as inpatient services check your mother's Medicare Summary Notice and follow the instructions to challenge the charges from the hospital listed under Part B of the notice. You may also challenge any charges from the nursing home for outpatient services..Click here to learn more about the NASI survey..That said, logic says we may be in for some pretty big swings in the prices of certain items - such as gasoline. Especially troubling for everyone are steep increases in the cost of meats, poultry, processed fish and seafood, milk, fruits and vegetables. We are spending a lot more than usual trying to maintain a nutritious diet, and this has been going on for months..To learn how much COLA cuts would cost you, try TSCL's Chained COLA calculator..Under current law, the federal government matches state Medicaid spending for everyone whose income is low enough to qualify, which is tied to the federal poverty level of ,060 or ,240. Under current law, as Medicaid spending increases due to rising program costs there are no caps on what the federal government contributes. Under the House and Senate health care bills, the federal government would switch to reimbursing states using a capped amount, regardless of the actual growth in costs in a state. If costs grow faster states would have to make up the difference..However, he has apparently given up his demand..Other services provided by an out-of-network provider at an in-network facility, unless notice and consent criteria are met.