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The Ryan Budget would not only force seniors to pay more for their healthcare but it would reopen the Medicare prescription drug 'donut hole,' forcing many seniors to pay more for their life-saving prescription medications..After 13 years with TREA he retired from the organization at the end of 2018 and became TSCL's Legislative Consultant in September of 2019..The confirmation of Marilyn Tavenner marks a major milestone for CMS, and like those Senators who voted in her favor, TSCL is hopeful that her leadership will provide the Medicare program with increased stability..This year, for the first time since the early 80's, the Social Security Trust Fund that pays retirement and survivors benefits fell into deficit and is paying out more than it receives in payroll taxes and taxes on Social Security benefits. In years in which there was an excess of Social Security taxes, the federal government used the surplus revenues for other purposes and then credited the Trust Fund with special non-marketable government bonds representing IOUs. But with the recession and prolonged economic recovery, the taxes that fund Social Security plunged. At the same time, enrollment is soaring as seniors who have lost their jobs turn to Social Security early. When the Trust Funds don't receive enough tax revenues, then the government must find the cash to redeem the IOUs to pay benefits. The only options Congress has is unsustainable levels of borrowing, tax increases, or cutting benefits..The less painful alternatives are: bringing new state and local workers into the Social Security system, gradually raising the payroll tax cap to its originally intended level, and raising the retirement age..Rural practices and patients deserve a better partner in the federal government when it comes to the health of rural America. History has shown that communities that don't have a reliable healthcare facility struggle to maintain their livelihood..Senate Confirms New CMS Administrator.If signed into law, the bill would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset two provisions of the Social Security Act that cut the earned benefits of millions of teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public servants each year. Because these individuals receive pensions from their state or local governments, their monthly Social Security checks are arbitrarily reduced, often by one-half or more..Medicare Advantage plans have the flexibility to waive co-pays and deductible costs for patients in cases of a disaster or emergency. Most Medicare Advantage insurers announced they are doing so for treatment of COVID-1To learn the details of what your dad's health plan is doing to respond to COVID-19, you can find a list Medicare Advantage insurers and how they are responding on the website of the American Health Insurance Plans.