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I'm diabetic and get my blood testing supplies via mail order. When I called to order my next shipment I was told I would have to pay the full cost of supplies and my credit card was charged. I thought Medicare covered the cost..The Obama administration will decide soon whether to appeal Monday's injunction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. In the meantime, TSCL will keep a close eye on the immigration discussions since the President's recent orders could result in permanent and significant obligations for the Social Security and Medicare programs down the road. We will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website..The record low COLAs in recent years that haven't stopped politicians in Washington from proposing more reductions by using the more slowly- growing "chained" CPI, to calculate COLAs. According to TSCL's online "Chained COLA" calculator, over the first 10 years alone a ,000 per month benefit would lose about ,555 in growth under the proposal..On Monday, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released its highly-anticipated report analyzing the AHCA legislation from Republican lawmakers that would replace the Affordable Care Act if signed into law..Instead, some physicians are experimenting with converting their practices to more lucrative payment models, such as concierge medicine, in which patients pay a fee upfront to retain the doctor. Patients who cannot afford that arrangement may have to search for a new physician..I realize that tonight when I go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the living room where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers..Note any other relevant information and then hang up..Check the insurer's financial strength. Since you may have your.Even if Congress is not able to pass all the funding bills by the end of the fiscal year on September 30, we doubt there will be a government shutdown. It is most likely they will pass as many "continuing resolutions" as they need, as they have done in the past, to avoid a shutdown.

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If you buy your diabetic testing supplies through mail order, you MUST get your supplies through contract suppliers in Medicare's new National Mail Order Program in order for Medicare to pay. This applies to beneficiaries living in all parts of the United States. Medicare defines mail order as all home deliveries..This week, one new cosponsor Rep. David Valadao signed on to Rep. John Duncan's CPI for Seniors Act. The cosponsor total is now at six. If signed into law, H.R. 2154 would create a new consumer price index specifically for senior citizens for the purpose of establishing a more accurate Social Security cost-of-living adjustment. Currently, COLAs are based upon the way young, urban workers spend their money, using the CPI-W. However, seniors spend a disproportionate share of their income on healthcare, and the CPI-W fails to capture that. Each year, it underestimates the spending inflation that seniors experience. TSCL enthusiastically supports the CPI for Seniors Act, and we were pleased to see one new cosponsor sign on this week..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. … Continued

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Another issue known as "balance billing" arises when patients are billed the difference between what a doctor charges for a service and what an insurer is willing to pay for it..That's changing this year due to new Medicare rules that require suppliers to engage in competitive bidding to supply seniors with this equipment. A two-year pilot of competitive bidding in nine cities succeeded in lowering Medicare's durable medical equipment costs by a third. Lower costs for Medicare should also mean lower co-pays for seniors..Second, the end of the 2020 fiscal year is drawing ever nearer, and Congress needs to pass legislation to fund the government for fiscal year 2021, which begins on September And finally, the end of July and beginning of August, the month that Congress traditionally is in recess. … Continued