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Rep. Matt Cartwright represents Pennsylvania's 17th Congressional District, which includes Schuylkill County and portions of Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, and Northampton Counties. Cartwright serves on the House Committee on Natural Resources and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform..That subject is the coronavirus flu. We wrote a little about it last week, but we still have questions and concerns and we think you probably do, also. Let's start by pointing out the following: even the world's top infectious-disease specialists still aren't sure how lethal a threat the coronavirus presents..If you or a family member have limited income and have trouble paying Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket costs, Medicare Savings Programs may help. If you qualify, you may get help paying for your Medicare premiums and deductibles and coinsurance if your income and savings meet the limits. In addition, you automatically qualify for Extra Help paying the costs of Medicare prescription drug coverage..The difference in drug prices between the two programs is due to two reasons. Under Medicare Part D, the government isn't negotiating drug costs on behalf of beneficiaries, and Part D has no cap on out-of-pocket spending for prescription drugs. The lack of a cap acts as a perverse incentive for drug makers and drug plans to get beneficiaries to use the most expensive drugs, because Medicare reimburses drug plans 80% of the cost in the final catastrophic phase of coverage. The higher the cost of the drug, the more drug plans receive from Medicare. Medicare patients who rely on such medications could owe thousands of dollars out-of-pocket every year for a single drug, even when their Part D plan covers the drug.."The Underlying Causes Of Surprise Medical Bills," David Blumenthal and Shanoor Seervai, The Commonwealth Fund, April 26, 201"Surprise! Congress Takes Steps To Curb Unexpected Medical Bills," Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News, December 22, 2020, "Surprise Medical Bills Cost Americans Millions. Congress Finally Banned Most Of Them." Sarah Kliff and Margot Sanger-Katz, The New York Times, December 22, 2020..The report further stated that "Dental care was the most commonly postponed service, with 43% having delayed care. Thirty-six percent put off checkups and treatment for ongoing conditions, while 32% delayed diagnostic screenings..The plan would affect both current and future Medicare beneficiaries by carving Medicare into two systems. People who already receive Medicare would continue under the current system. People who turn 65 by 2021 would receive a voucher to purchase private insurance..Does the Start of Obamacare Affect Me?.Whether or not appropriators will successfully negotiate an omnibus spending bill before December 11th remains to be seen. If Congress fails to reach an agreement, the federal government will shut down, and Social Security beneficiaries could see delays in their monthly benefit checks. In addition, doctors who treat Medicare patients and other medical providers could experience delayed reimbursements from the government.

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The federal government negotiates prescription drug prices for Medicaid and for veterans, but it is barred from negotiating lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries. As a result, senior citizens enrolled in Part D often pay much higher prices for their prescriptions. What are you doing to correct this unfair policy?.TSCL is hopeful that Congress will provide the Social Security Administration with the funding and staffing necessary to make progress on reducing the DI backlog. As Ranking Member John Larson said at Wednesday's hearing, "[A backlog of] six hundred days is flat-out unacceptable." In the coming weeks, TSCL will provide the Social Security Subcommittee with policy recommendations. We will summarize them here in the Legislative News section of our website after they are submitted to the Subcommittee for review..Seventy-eight percent of participants in TSCL's 2019 Senior Survey think Congress should establish an out-of-pocket spending cap. In December of last year, prescription drug legislation, H.R.3, the Elijah Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act was passed by the House. In addition to allowing Medicare to negotiate drug costs, the House bill would cap Part D's annual out - of - pocket costs for prescription drugs, starting at ,000 per year. … Continued

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The Social Security Disability Insurance trust fund is projected to become depleted next year, in 201What do you feel should be done to restore this program's solvency?.At the hearing the top Republican on the committee, Steve Womack of Arkansas and other Republican lawmakers said that Congress will need to limit the growth of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, which they referred to as "major mandatory programs.".Compare that to retiring early at age 6She'll lose ,437 in Social Security income. Her starting benefit will be permanently reduced by 25% to ,225, and even with receiving benefits over more years she'll receive only 3,228 over the course of her retirement. Her final benefit would be ,438. … Continued