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Medicare Part B premiums are expected to stay at 4 per month in 2018, leaving people like Barbara facing a big premium increase. The 4 premium is per month more than she paid this year, and more than what Barbara expects to get from her COLA in 201That means her Part B premium will be adjusted again to prevent reduction in her benefits. As much as that protection is appreciated, Barbara is frustrated about high Medicare premium costs after years of low or no COLA growth. "It's been 36 months since I've had any raise in my net operating Social Security, but my actual household costs continue to go up," Barbara says. "This isn't fair to retirees," she adds..By: Jessie Gibbons, Legislative Analyst.On Wednesday, Sen. Michael Enzi and Rep. Tom Price Chairmen of the Senate and House Budget Committees released their fiscal 2016 conference budget resolution. Shortly thereafter, House lawmakers passed it along party lines, with a vote of 226-197..Good news is hard to come by these days. While a pandemic has hit our nation at least once before, none of us alive have ever experienced anything like this. In addition to the concern over catching the virus, the economy continues to take a huge hit, and no one knows how long this will last or how bad it's going to get..Consumer Reports makes a good point. When you stick with the higher costing brand, the entire cost of the drug under that plan will apply towards your initial coverage limit, pushing you toward the doughnut hole coverage gap. That raises the chance you will use up your limit before the year's end and you'll pay half the cost of the brand name drug in the doughnut hole, and 79% on any generics. You may want to ask your doctor to prescribe the generic version of the drug whenever available..A new study has found that it is more than prices that are high when it comes to so many prescription drugs. According to Modern Healthcare newsletter, "A .40 increase in out-of-pocket costs per prescription was associated with a 22.6% drop in consumption and a 32.7% increase in monthly mortality rates, an analysis of more than 358,000 relatively healthy 65-year-old Medicare beneficiaries found.".Thus, we are watching to see how this Administration would do things differently this time. In addition, there are concerns on the Canadian side about the timing. Canada is concerned this could cause drug shortages, particularly for drugs used to treat COVID-19 further exacerbating tensions with one of our nation's closest allies and trading partner..This week, lawmakers in the House and Senate remained in their home states and districts to continue the holiday recess. They are expected to return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, July 10th. In the meantime, many Members of Congress will be attending local events and hosting town hall meetings around the country..This week, lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill to begin the "lame duck" session of Congress. Those in the Senate plus Republicans in the House held leadership elections for the 116th Congress. In the Senate, key leadership positions will remain largely unchanged in 201Senator Mitch McConnell will once again serve as the Senate Majority Leader, while Senator Chuck Schumer will remain the Minority Leader in the 116th Congress.