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After a rare bipartisan agreement, President Obama signed a bill into law that will extend the payroll tax break and unemployment benefits, and prevent a 27% pay cut to Medicare physicians. The President signed the measure into law in private on Wednesday, after celebrating the passage of the bill at an event on Tuesday..If you would like to continue receiving these press releases via email, please send your email address to [email protected] source drugs. The companies with monopoly pricing power acquire sole - source drugs for which there is only one manufacturer, and therefore face no immediate competition..To avoid the fee in 2014, you need insurance that qualifies as minimal essential coverage. If affordable insurance is not available through your employer, you can shop for health insurance through your new state health insurance exchange, or market place. Middle to low income people who buy coverage through the exchanges will also get government subsidies in the form of advance refundable tax credits to help pay the premiums. These tax credits are only available if you buy coverage through the exchange. You aren't supposed to get the subsidy if you have an offer of insurance from your employer that meets the standards. You qualify for the subsidy if your income is less than 400% of the federal poverty level. So the qualification level is about ,000 or less for an individual and ,000 or less for a family of four in 2013..Start by reviewing materials that you receive from your current health plan for prospective changes in premiums, deductibles, co-pays and provider networks. If your income has changed in 2014, report changes to the healthcare exchange in your state or through before the Open Enrollment crunch begins. Watch your local news media for announcements of "healthcare navigator" programs in your area to help you compare plans and enroll. The programs may be offered through your local library, or other community service organizations..Nearly twenty new initiatives were revealed at Monday's conference. In his speech, President Obama announced one that will encourage workers to save more for retirement by helping states create new workplace-based savings opportunities. Currently, around one-third of all employees do not have access to a workplace retirement plan. The initiative announced on Monday will "provide a clear path forward for states to create retirement savings programs" by the end of this year, President Obama said..Two of the most popular Medigap plans, "F" and "C," will no longer be offered for sale in 2020. "While individuals enrolled in these plans may keep their plans, we are concerned that premiums for these plans could rise significantly without younger and healthier new enrollees to spread the costs in those plans," Johnson says..Action on Capitol Hill this week has been limited as Congress re-convenes on January 17th. Meanwhile, members of the payroll tax Congressional Conference Committee were named, while the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a plan for increased efficiency and savings..According to Johnson's calculations, the Social Security beneficiaries who are most likely will not to see an increase in their net monthly check are those with benefits below ,264 per month. These individuals will once again be subject to hold harmless in 201Their COLA will be completely offset by the Part B premiums, but their Social Security benefits will not be reduced. "The net result will be no growth in the benefit for the third year in a row," Johnson says. "And that leaves nothing to meet other rising costs, such as Medigap premiums, Part D premiums, out-of-pocket costs, or anything else," Johnson notes.