Lawmakers Debate Spending Bill, Immigration.Budget Deal Passes With Provisions To Head Off SSDI Benefit Cut.TSCL is happy to announce that one key piece of legislation gained support in the House of Representatives this week. The Improving Access to Affordable Prescription Drugs Act gained a new cosponsor in Representative Pete Visclosky, bringing the total up to twenty. If signed into law, H.R. 1776 would require the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries, allow the importation of prescription drugs from Canada, accelerate the closing of the Part D "doughnut hole," and cap monthly prescription drug expenses at 0, among other things..Since that conversation inflation for certain items has jumped. In fact consumer price data indicate that the COLA for next year may be the highest since 2019, if the trends continue. My estimates about the COLA are based on the most current available data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, for what it's worth..With no effective treatment in sight, and no indication that the coronavirus will "magically disappear," as the President has frequently predicted, a vaccine will be "the ultimate game changer" in the pandemic, according Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading expert on the outbreak. "There's never a guarantee of success," Fauci said. But he added that he was "cautiously optimistic" that by winter, at least one of nearly a dozen promising vaccine candidates would have shown itself to be safe and effective in inducing immunity in humans..The Lower Drug Costs Now Act contains additional provisions to combat relentless prices increases. For example, the bill would expand Medicare Part D benefits to include dental, vision, and hearing coverage. And it would establish a new ,000 out-of-pocket limit on prescription drug costs. I'm proud to be a cosponsor of this bill, because American seniors shouldn't be subjected to unfair price hikes on lifesaving medications - especially when other industrialized countries are paying lower prices for identical drugs..Advisor editor Mary Johnson estimates that using the chained CPI would cut lifetime Social Security benefits by about 7% over 25 years. New retirees with an average benefit of ,100 in 2010 would receive about ,634 less over a 25-year retirement period. "The financial impact is deceptive, appearing small at first," says TSCL Executive Director, Shannon Benton, "But the cuts compound over time, growing deepest when seniors are the oldest and sickest. By the time seniors are in their late 80's or 90's, when they are most likely to have chronic health problems, monthly benefits would be about 5 lower using the chained CPI.".This issue has just popped up and TSCL will be in contact with members of Congress to do all we can to prevent these looming cuts and we will keep you advised as to how things are going..Senator Richard Blumenthal introduced S. 269 on January 30, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Finance.
