News

People who don't have their premiums deducted from Social Security payments, including those still working and who haven't started Social Security yet..Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid told reporters this week: "Seriously, I feel good about the omnibus, I think we make progress every day. We started with about 250 riders, our new buzzword for earmarks, and now we're down to as I understand it I haven't seen it about 100.".This time, with large numbers of hospitals straining to care for COVID-19 patients, cutting payments to hospitals and increasing revenues is likely to be far more difficult. Hospitals across the country say they have been pushed to their financial limit. And simply raising payroll tax rates may not provide enough of a revenue in the short term if unemployment remains at high levels longer than anticipated. Payroll taxes cannot be collected from workers who are unemployed..How to Hold That Thought.Start watching the mail for your new Medicare card. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services will start mailing the cards this month and plans to replace all existing Medicare cards over the next year - by April of 2019..Now, as we draw close to the end of the year, the window for Congress to take major action to lower prescription drug prices is beginning to close. Concern is growing that the prospects of a substantial drug price reduction bill may get lost in the politics surrounding the 2020 election. Legislation that would allow Medicare to negotiate the cost of prescription drugs is in the House, and a bipartisan bill that would cap out-of-pocket Part D costs at ,100 a year is stalled in the Senate. The whole effort is fiercely being fought by the pharmaceutical industry, and the outcome remains unclear..Symptoms of the two illnesses are similar, and when seasonal influenza season arrives later this year it will be important for public-health authorities and health workers to be able to differentiate between the two viruses. Such a test would help determine whether Covid-19 infections are experiencing a second wave, or if patients are showing up with normal seasonal flu..Someone calls or visits asking for your address or Social Security Number and reads incorrect information that they claim to have for you. This is the typical way in which scammers attempt to bait you into supplying information they want, which includes your address, email address, or Social Security number. Don't take the bait. Never give out your Social Security number to anyone who calls you on the phone or knocks on your door..TSCL Endorses Two Medicare Bills