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Medicare "Premium Support" Gains Momentum.Usually during economic downturns many older workers are forced into retirement when they lose jobs. While the pandemic may have caused more to retire earlier than planned, deaths removed hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries from Social Security rolls. In fact, life expectancy plunged by a full year in the first half of 2020, from 78.8 years to 77.8 years, the biggest drop since World War II..So it could be significant this week that a Republican member of the Federal Trade Commission, Christine Wilson, stated that she believes Medicare should have more power to negotiate drug prices. She acknowledged that her position would be controversial among her fellow Republicans because they argue that allowing Medicare to negotiate with the pharmaceutical companies would essentially allow Medicare to set drug prices and stifle development of innovative new drugs. As the year progresses, we shall see if her views make any difference..In order to cover shortfalls - in 2021, and every year thereafter - the Social Security Trust Fund will liquidate the special issue bonds it holds in order to pay scheduled benefits until the program becomes insolvent. According to the Social Security Trustees in 2020, without Congressional action, the combined Social Security Trust Fund will become insolvent around 2034, a little more than ten years from now. At the time of insolvency, Social Security will only receive enough revenues to pay about 77% of benefits. In other words, Congressional inaction could result in an automatic benefit cut of about 23%..With President Obama pushing for an immigration bill "by the end of the summer," Congress is rapidly moving major immigration reform legislation. Under the bill passed in the Senate, an estimated 8-11 million unauthorized immigrants would receive work authorization, giving them access to Social Security numbers and with it entitlement to Social Security and Medicare benefits with ten years of earnings..Inflation, as measured by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' consumer price index, has taken a deep tumble over the past year, meaning older Americans will have to settle for a cost-of-living adjustment of 1.6% in 2020 after getting a 2.8% increase this year..At a prescription drug forum in Central Virginia in November 2019, I heard from seniors who share these feelings. They're tired of seeing their drug costs rising. They're tired of having no way to understand why these prices continue to spike, and they're tired of lawmakers who refuse to act on an issue that impacts millions of seniors and families across our country each day..Drug and Health Plan Finders at : The only way to be sure you're getting unbiased information is to use the drug and health plan finders on the Medicare website, not from a dot com or even a dot org website, because most others receive income from ads, selling health plans or prescription drugs. Using the Drug and Health Plan Finders you can get an overview of the Part D and Medicare Advantage options in your area and estimated costs based on the prescriptions you take. Click on the Drug and Health Plan Finder link on the homepage and you will be taken to a page that will ask you a series of questions to get started. There's a Medicare Plan Finder online tutorial video to help show you what to do..Need more help? Free one-on-one counseling is available through State Health Insurance Programs. To get contact info for your area visit shiptacenter.org.