limited coverage for medically-related home health care, or short-term nursing.Currently, 62 percent of Americans ages 65 and older suffer from multiple chronic conditions which require person-centered, coordinated care. Direct Care Workers, such as nursing assistants, home health aides, or personal care aides provide an estimated 70 to 80 percent of the paid, hands-on, long-term care and personal assistance received by older adults in the U.S. DCWs are not, however, often recognized as essential contributors to care teams. Few existing models provide DCWs with the advanced training necessary to take on increased responsibilities..In addition, The Senior Citizens League believes that an extension of the tax holiday could make a permanent cut more likely, further jeopardizing the program's ability to fully pay Social Security benefits in the future..On Monday, the Social Security and Medicare Trustees reported on the financial standing of both programs. According to the six Trustees, Social Security and Medicare are worse off than they were just one year ago. Social Security's combined OASDI Trust Funds will reach exhaustion in 2033, three years earlier than last year's report projected. Medicare's Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will face insolvency in 2024, the same date that was projected last year. However, the program's actual costs are expected to exceed estimates since the Trustees could not account for the costly "doc fix," which Congress will likely vote for at the end of this year..If signed into law, the Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act would repeal the Sustainable Growth Rate formula and set up a five-year trial period during which the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would test and evaluate new payment and delivery models. It would prevent scheduled pay cuts to physicians who treat Medicare patients, and it would stabilize reimbursements throughout the trial period..Rep. Matt Cartwright introduced H.R. 4445 on April 10, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce..Nonetheless, TSCL will keep a close eye on the bill's movement in the coming weeks, since it could have a significant impact on the Social Security and Medicare programs. For updates, visit the Legislative News section of our website.."As the Covid-19 pandemic has sparked a race among drug makers eager to develop a vaccine and improve the industry's standing in Washington - pharma's giving underscores the breadth of its influence and its efforts to curry favor through lobbying and donations to the lawmakers who regulate health care..I've been filling my mother's prescriptions at the same pharmacy without a problem and charged the same co-payment every month. In November when I picked up her prescription, I was charged the full price of the drug. She was not near the doughnut hole. I was told her drug card "was not in the system." I went ahead and paid the full price because my mother needed the prescription, but what can I do now?
