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Adding to the confusion, the program will affect beneficiaries differently depending on the area of the country in which they live, and how they are getting their supplies and durable medical equipment. Effective July 1, 2013, in most cases if you have "Original" Medicare coverage and get items in the new program areas, Medicare will only help pay for these items if they're provided by contract suppliers..That said until you crunch the numbers it's hard to say whether itemizing your medical expenses or taking the standard deduction would be the better option..Congress recently took action to head off a looming 19% cut in Social Security disability benefits received by nearly 10.8 million disabled adults and their dependents. The Social Security Disability Insurance trust fund was projected to run low of funds by the end of 2016, but changes contained in the recent debt limit budget deal include a number of provisions to strengthen program financing. Many of them had the support of TSCL..The program was designed to address the needs of low–income seniors, who receive both Medicare and Medicaid. The group includes the oldest, sickest and poorest of seniors, including many Notch Babies, who tend to have multiple health problems, including the need for long term care. Although they make up only 15 percent of all Medicaid beneficiaries, they account for almost 40 percent of Medicaid expenditures, according to the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured..A copy of the statement from your mother's drug plan through October 2011 showing how much was spent year-to-date and how much she had left of her initial coverage limit. This will document that she had not hit the doughnut hole..According to the Congressional Research Service, for an age 65 retiree with average wages, a maximum benefit disparity of 10% would have arisen between the highest benefit under the old rules and the lowest benefit under the new rules if the 1977 assumptions had materialized. Under the economic conditions that actually arose, the disparity was 25%-two and one half times greater..In the days ahead, The Senior Citizens League will keep a close eye on the evolving budget negotiations, and we will continue to advocate for legislative solutions that would strengthen and protect your Social Security and Medicare benefits. For updates, follow us on Twitter or visit the Legislative News section of our website every Friday morning..Senate Aging Committee Discusses Alzheimer's Disease.Third, the Social Security Fairness Act of 2017 gained two new cosponsors in Representative Bill Posey and Suzanne Bonamici, bringing the cosponsor total to 17If signed into law, H.R. 1205 would repeal the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision two provisions that unfairly reduce the earned Social Security benefits of millions of teachers, police officers, and other public servants each year.