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If adopted, the Seniors Have Eyes, Ears, and Teeth Act would expand Medicare coverage to include essential hearing, vision, and dental care. Under current law, the traditional Medicare program is prohibited from covering these basic health care services, and millions of seniors living on fixed incomes cannot afford to pay out-of-pocket for routine care or assistive technologies like hearing aids..'Let the Crime Spree Begin': How Fraud Flourishes In Medicare's Drug Plan, Tracy Weber and Charles Ornstein, ProPublica, December 19, 201Listen to this story on NPR..Co-pays and coinsurance: This refers to the portion of the cost of services that you pay out-of-pocket. Co-pays are a fixed amount that you will pay for each service. For example, in a Medicare Advantage plan, you may be billed a co-pay of to see a primary care physician and to see a specialist. On the other hand, coinsurance is a variable amount. It is a percentage of the cost of the service. Theoretically if the total cost of the service is ,000 and you pay 20% coinsurance, your cost could be about 0. Under Medicare Advantage your health plan negotiates the cost of service, thus you would want to call your plan to get an idea what your total out-of-pocket costs would be, and whether your provider is a preferred provider. Under most Medigap policies, the Part B co-insurance cost is covered in large part, but there still could be some "excess charges" that you pay out of pocket.."Is There A Subprime Car Loan Bubble?" Bob Sullivan, Credit.com, March 23, 2015..New TSCL Poll Should Medicare Be Changed?.The following is an op-ed by U.S. Representative Dennis A. Ross and does not necessarily reflect the views of TSCL..TSCL believes that Social Security and Medicare remain at high risk of major changes that would cut benefits and continues to meet with Members of Congress and their staffs. The COLA is particularly vulnerable due to the size of the reduction in the deficit it would have - both by cutting federal spending and boosting tax revenue. The next election will be one of the most critical in years for both retirees and older Americans within ten years of retirement. TSCL urges you to ensure that you and your family are registered and ready to vote this November!.Third, extending the payroll tax cut could make a permanent cut more likely. As of 2009, there were seventy–three "temporary" measures in the books - many of them are now considered as good as permanent. Scott Hodge, the President of the Tax Foundation, recently warned lawmakers about the nature of temporary tax cuts. He stated, "This is going to become a permanent law. Once these things get … cooked in to the system, they're awfully difficult to get rid of.".The reconciliation bill is one of the most complex tax and spending bills ever contemplated, with virtually no area of the budget or tax code left untouched. The Democrats want it to contain measures that are extremely important to seniors, including dental, hearing and vision benefits being covered by Medicare. They are hoping to craft it in such a way as to only need 51 votes for passage.