Medicaid Issue Brief Medicaid Postpartum Coverage Extension TrackerMedicare fraud, abuse, and wasteful spending are problems that continue to affect all Americans. Attorney General Eric Holder estimates that fraudulent Medicare activities cost taxpayers an estimated billion a year. The staggering figure has contributed to rising costs that are passed on to beneficiaries. Lawmakers and administrators are seeking alternative measures to reign in Medicare's out-of-control costs to seniors..January 2007.When the average person measures cost changes, one compares the change in the cost of a specific item like a gallon of home heating oil over a specific time frame. For example, the national average cost of home heating oil was .15 per gallon in the first week of January 2000. In the first week in January, 2013 it had increased to .00 per gallon - an increase of .8That's a total increase of 257% over 13 years. … Continued
State Indicator Percent Change In State Tax RevenueLeaders in Congress seem optimistic that they will reach a deal in the coming days. In a brief with the Republican Conference on Thursday morning, House Speaker Paul Ryan said, "I believe we will successfully complete the negotiations. We're not going to rush it. We're going to get it right.".Covid-19 displaced suicide as one of the top 10 causes of death..For the sixth consecutive year, Social Security beneficiaries will receive a cost-of-living adjustment that's a near-record low. Benefits will rise in January by a meager 1.7% after a 1.5% increase in 201In fact, inflation has been growing so slowly that the annual increase has averaged only 1.4% per year since 2010 - less than half the 3 percent average during the prior decade. In 2010 and 2011, benefits didn't increase at all, and a 1.7% increase next year won't pull up the five-year average. … Continued