Blog Historical Horses Lots Of Policy On Voters BallotsOn Monday, the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare programs released their annual reports on the current and projected financial status of the two programs. As expected, the Trustees found that both programs currently face significant but manageable financial challenges..Despite the optimistic attitudes of the five expert witnesses, those on the Subcommittee seemed hesitant about revamping the payment system this year. One Subcommittee Member, Rep. Michael Burgess stated: "This term, I've seen more work done on this problem than I have any other time that I have been in Congress, but we're still pretty far away from the goal that we all expect to achieve." He went on to say, "We're not likely to end up doing something that will provide that … long-term replacement for the SGR by December 31.".In a separate report, the CDC responded to concerns about deaths being misattributed to Coved-1The agency took a close look at death certificates, finding that most that listed Covid-19 also named other contributing problems. They included conditions such as diabetes, known to increase the danger of severe disease, or conditions such as pneumonia that occurred in the chain of events leading to the deaths. … Continued
Energy Planning For The Evolving Electric GridAccording to AARP, about 94% of widely-used brand-name drugs that were on the market between 2005 and 2017 nearly doubled in price. And in 2017, the average annual cost of specialty drugs - which treat complex conditions like cancer - was about ,800. In contrast, the average Social Security benefit in 2017 was just ,800..Unless there is a breakthrough regarding a new coronavirus bill, the House is scheduled to return to business on Sept. 1That will leave 2 ½ weeks in September for it to pass the two remaining funding bills but that will probably depend on how negotiations for a new coronavirus bill as well as a CR go once they return..Those include pharmacy benefit managers, insurers, hospitals and others in the biopharmaceutical supply chain. Meanwhile, a greater share of the cost of medicine has shifted onto patients. … Continued