Report Section Kff The Undefeated Survey On Race And Health MethodologyEven 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..TSCL enthusiastically supports these measures since they would go a long way in increasing access to more affordable prescription drugs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries. However, President Obama's budget request does include one reform to the Medicare program that TSCL opposes. It would increase means testing by requiring middle-class Medicare beneficiaries to pay higher Part B and Part D premiums. TSCL believes means testing within the program has gone far enough with recent increases under the Affordable Care Act, and we know that middle-class seniors simply cannot afford to pay higher out-of-pocket Medicare costs..Reps. Brad Miller, Frederica Wilson, Laura Richardson, Jim McDermott Robert Andrews, Sam Graves, Jim Gerlach, Madeleine Bordallo, Patrick Meehan, Jon Runyan, and Leonard Lance signed on to Rep. Howard McKeon's H.R. 133The co-sponsor total is at 145. … Continued
New Campaign From The Conversation La Conversacion About Kids And The Covid VaccinesWashington, DC) An eye - popping new list compiled by The Senior Citizens League indicates that, by late 2020, price increases for many of the expenditures of older Americans far outstripped the modest 1.3 percent cost of living adjustment boost that Social Security recipients start receiving this month. "This list is a snapshot of how COVID-19 affected prices of certain items through the end of November 2020," says Mary Johnson, a Social Security policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League. "There are surprising price aberrations that we haven't seen before," Johnson says. "Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that toilet paper and disinfecting wipes could wind up on our annual list of fastest growing retiree costs," Johnson says..Last year the Government Accountability Office in a report to Congress defined "notches" as "unduly large incremental reductions." In addition, the GAO further said "Notches create marked inequities between beneficiaries close in age to each other.".The hold harmless provision affects Medicare beneficiaries who have their Part B premiums automatically deducted from their Social Security payments. The law protects the Social Security benefits of those people, about 70% of all Medicare beneficiaries, when an increase in the amount of the Part B premium is greater than the amount of increase that individuals would receive in their COLA. The law prohibits a reduction to an individual's monthly Social Security benefit due to rising Medicare premiums from one year to the next. … Continued