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Then, in our Oct. 3 Update we reported that the chairmen of the House Ways and Means Oversight and Health subcommittees had sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar requesting more information about the discount card. Among the questions they were asking was what legal authority is being used to justify the program and how it will be paid for..Here is a big part of the answer. An analysis by Stat News of campaign finance records shows that the pharmaceutical industry donated to more than two-thirds of Congress as well as 2,467 state lawmakers during the last campaign cycle -- to the tune of over million..TSCL will continue to keep a close eye on the evolving immigration negotiations, and we remain hopeful that in the very near future, lawmakers will consider loophole-closing legislation that would prevent Social Security credits from being earned by work done illegally. For updates on the discussions, visit the Legislative News section of our website..Most of the money that Social Security pays out to current beneficiaries comes from payroll taxes. According to the Social Security Trustees, the program received 5.1 billion in payroll taxes in 201Social Security also received an estimated .9 billion from the taxation of Social Security benefits, and .9 billion in interest was earned on special issue non-marketable bonds held by the trust fund last year..In a way that's not news. You already knew prices had been going up and so did we at TSCL. But it's nice to have the facts to back us up..I turn 65 next year, and have very good healthcare coverage through my husband's employer. I need Humira for rheumatoid arthritis. The drug retails for more than ,250 a dose, which I require monthly. My husband's plan normally has a co-pay of 0 for Humira, but through a special arrangement I'm required to pay only $Do I have to give up this coverage when I sign up for Medicare?.Enrollment in the demonstration program far exceeds early target of 1–2 million beneficiaries set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. If all 26 state proposals are approved, approximately 3 million dual–eligible beneficiaries, about 40 percent of seniors who receive both Medicare and Medicaid, would be automatically enrolled into new managed–care plans..The letter and the fact sheet leave out the most important part of the calculation - the additional lifetime income that one could expect to receive over a 20 30 year retirement, if one delays benefits up to age 70. That can add up to tens of thousands of dollars if you are in reasonably good health. In fact, Social Security's publications tend to imply that people get about the same amount of benefits if they start benefits early because they receive the reduced benefit over a longer period of time. That isn't necessarily the case..TSCL strongly believes that inaction on addressing Social Security's financing challenges is putting the benefits of tens of millions at risk. The closer we come to the Social Security depletion dates, the more difficult it will be to find a solution to strengthen program finances. With the coronavirus recession, the depletion date may arrive sooner than anyone ever expected.