This week, four congressional committees began crafting legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In addition, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a courtesy confirmation hearing to question Congressman Tom Price, the nominee for the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services position..Social Security beneficiaries receive a small automatic increase in their Social Security checks most years, intended to help their benefits keep up with rising costs. But since 2000, COLAs increased benefits a total of just 43 percent while typical senior expenses have jumped 86%. When costs climb more rapidly than benefits, retirees must spend down retirement savings more quickly than expected, and those without savings or other retirement income are either going into debt, or going without..That's the case for Ninon Ruscher and her husband John of Tuscon, Arizona, who rely on Social Security for all of their income. Mrs. Ruscher says that, "seniors who rent their own homes are in a precarious financial situation." "Once we pay the monthly bills, we sit at home. We don't have the money to do anything or go anywhere. Once the food runs out we have to wait until our next Social Security payment," she adds. Mrs. Ruscher notes that even though her husband receives health benefits through the Veterans Administration, and she's enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, they are still trying to pay off expenses from her recent surgery earlier this year..According to Politico, "At least 10 caucus moderates are signaling opposition to Democrats' drug pricing negotiation bill - more than enough to potentially force House Speaker Nancy Pelosi into dropping the reforms from [President Biden's] infrastructure legislation Democrats hope to pass along party lines. Pelosi can only spare two Democratic defections on partisan legislation because of the party's slim House majority.".But as the StatNews article said, "… some people might remember the headlines of Moderna's and Pfizer's product offering greater than 90% effectiveness against Covid-19 and question J&J's announcement of 66% effectiveness..PBMs continue to leave American consumers and pharmacists in the dark about how their operations could be contributing to high prices. But to begin shedding light on the black box of prescription drug negotiations, I introduced the Public Disclosure of Drug Discounts Act. My legislation would require PBMs to publicly report their aggregate rebates, discounts, and other price concessions. Getting this information is a first step towards tackling the high cost of prescription drugs.."In the U.S. arm of the clinical trial, J&J's vaccine was 72% effective, which, in the absence of the mRNA data, 'one would have said this was an absolutely spectacular result,' Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at a separate White House briefing. What is more, the immunization was 85% effective at preventing severe disease and, in the trial, all hospitalizations and deaths occurred among people who got the placebo. None of the vaccinated people diagnosed with Covid-19 got sick enough to need hospital care..The Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act, if signed into law, would repeal the SGR and set up a five-year trial period during which physician payments would stabilize and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would test new payment and delivery models. TSCL strongly believes that the SGR breeds uncertainty in the Medicare program for both physicians and beneficiaries. Many doctors have stopped accepting Medicare patients, and many more are threatening to do so if a permanent solution is not established soon. We believe that Rep. Schwartz's bill would bring increased stability to the program, and we urge Congress to pass it by the end of this year..Even before the coronavirus pandemic Congress was facing tough decisions on how to strengthen the Medicare's Part A Hospital Insurance trust fund. But Congress is now running out of time and will need to move soon on a plan to prolong program solvency.
