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Now, a new fight over the practice has emerged as Health groups and consumer advocates are mounting a lobbying campaign to shape forthcoming federal rules around the ban. These are the same health groups that fought bitterly during the law's drafting about who would pick up the costs they could no longer bill to patients..By Jamie McMillen, TSCL Legislative Assistant.The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction was created under the Budget Control Act of 2011, and is charged with finding at least .2 trillion in deficit cuts by Thanksgiving. It will likely consider proposals to reform Social Security and Medicare..This year, on Tuesday, February 16, Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, will be reading Washington's address. Portman has announced that he will be retiring from the Senate when his term expires next year..The disparity between growth in the COLA and Medigap premiums is likely to be worse in 2020. "Inflation is lower this year, and we are estimating that the COLA is likely to be around 1.7 percent," Johnson says. "Nevertheless, we anticipate that Medigap premiums will continue to grow several times faster for a number of reasons," Johnson adds..The BPC released its own estimate of the impacts of a coronavirus recession on Social Security, projecting that it would accelerate the depletion of the trust fund from 2035 to 202Without any changes, a depletion of the Social Security trust fund would trigger program wide benefit cuts of 23%, as benefits adjust to the level of revenues still received by the program..Nonetheless, TSCL will not let the Senate forget that the need to pass legislation to help bring down the prices of prescription drugs must not be set aside because of the coronavirus threat. Many, many seniors are at risk because they can't afford the drugs they need, and the situation must be dealt with now..The far greater worry, however, is a sharp increase in almost every source of quality protein - including meat, poultry, and even canned tuna. "With many meat price increases in the double digits, we are highly concerned that older households may not be getting adequate supplies of protein in their diets," Johnson says. "This was a nationwide problem prior to the pandemic, and the problem has been exacerbated by shortages and disruptions during the pandemic," she points out..Find out the full cost of your new drug and whether your drug