Join us at 1pm EDT for Behind the Headlines as we discuss:
💊 Speaker Pelosi’s Prescription Drug plan.
📃 Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s Social Security bill.
🗣 Tonight’s Democratic Debate.
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#politics #election #health care #rx drugs #prescription drugs #seniors #elderly #older americans #democratic debate #debate #healthcare #p2 #prescription drug costs #congress #social securityMore you might like
Older Americans are the country’s largest voting bloc, but during the first four Democratic presidential debates, the moderators didn’t ask even one question about Social Security. This makes no sense.
How long do seniors have to wait until they hear the Democratic presidential candidates’ positions on Social Security during a primary debate? Older Americans are the country’s largest voting bloc, but during the first four Democratic presidential debates, the moderators didn’t ask even one question about Social Security. This makes no sense.
The father of Social Security is one of the most revered Democratic presidents. And yet not a single mention of the program during debates by the party of Franklin Roosevelt? The 63 million citizens who currently rely on their earned benefits to remain financially healthy want to hear the candidates answer at least one debate question – and provide some real answers. The next Democratic debate on October 15th provides yet another opportunity to raise this crucial topic.
Read more from our newest op-ed by clicking here.
Medicare spent $97 billion on prescription drugs in 2014, accounting for more than a quarter of the nation’s spending on prescription medicines. Those numbers are expected to continue rising in coming years, as spending on the Part D benefit accelerates. Policymakers have put a number of proposals on the table to reduce the growth in Medicare drug spending and costs for beneficiaries, including a controversial proposal that would change the way Medicare pays for Part B drugs administered by doctors.
Related Reading:
Options for Implementing Medicare Drug Negotiation.
Letter to Senate Finance on High Drug Costs.
Seniors could save 28% on Medicare prescription drugs if we paid the same prices as Canada. Compared to Denmark, we would save 65%!
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is working on a bipartisan plan to cap seniors’ expenses for prescription drugs in Medicare as part of a broader effort to lower drug prices.
Grassley told The Hill on Wednesday that one idea he is working on with Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.), the top Democrat on the panel, is “some sort of maximum amount that one person would have to pay” for drugs.
via The Hill.
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via twitter.
Related Reading:
How the Affordable Care Act Helps Seniors.
The ACA provides new ways to help hospitals, doctors and other health care providers coordinate care for beneficiaries so that health care quality is improved and unnecessary spending reduced.
- Lower-Cost Prescription Drugs.
- Preventive Services and Annual Wellness Visit.
- Lower Medicare Part B Premiums.
- Medicare Fraud, Waste and Abuse.
Nobody should have to choose between paying their bills for basic costs of living and taking their medication.
We applaud Rep. Lloyd Doggett’s efforts to keep prescription drugs affordable for the seniors who depend on them. We thank you for your tenacious efforts on this vital issue.
According to AARP, the annual average cost of prescription drugs overall increased nearly 60% between 2012-2017, while Oregonians’ income increased only 14.8%. In 2017, nearly one quarter of the state’s residents rationed pills or skipped medications altogether. Oregon seniors who have suffered the consequences of soaring drug prices shared their stories at the Portland town hall.
Pharmacists finally will be free to disclose lower prices for prescription drugs, thanks to a new law introduced by Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), which was endorsed by the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
The passage and signing of Senator Stabenow’s legislation proves that Congress and the president are indeed capable of coalescing around common sense solutions to lower prescription drug prices. This law will particularly help seniors on fixed incomes struggling to afford the medications they need.
Read more from this press release by clicking here.
A federal appeals court in New Orleans is preparing a ruling on the Affordable Care Act that could put the law’s future front and center in the presidential race, overwhelming the current Democratic debate over Medicare for all and reigniting the health care-driven worries that helped Democrats win back the House last year.
Three judges on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals are weighing whether to uphold a Texas judge’s ruling that the law’s requirement for most Americans to have health insurance is unconstitutional, and that the rest of the sprawling law cannot function without it. It is hard to imagine a thornier domestic issue for President Trump, whose administration not only refused to defend the law in the case filed by Texas and 19 other states but sided with the plaintiffs, asking the court to invalidate it.
via Washington Post.
How the Affordable Care Act Helps Seniors.
The ACA provides new ways to help hospitals, doctors and other health care providers coordinate care for beneficiaries so that health care quality is improved and unnecessary spending reduced.
- Lower-Cost Prescription Drugs.
- Preventive Services and Annual Wellness Visit.
- Lower Medicare Part B Premiums.
- Medicare Fraud, Waste and Abuse.
A new analysis by the National Institute on Retirement Security shows that #WomensRetirement income lags behind men’s. Our #EleanorsHope initiative is dedicated to helping close the gap between women & men when it comes to retirement savings and benefits. https://www.ncpssm.org/eleanors-hope/