Bob's Blog
Closing the Medicare 'donut hole'
Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that, as of December 2011, almost 236,000 Medicare beneficiaries in Pennsylvania saw their prescription drug costs reduced by discounts in the Medicare Part D or ‘donut hole’ coverage gap. In total, Pennsylvanians with Medicare saved over $156 million, at an average of about $660 per person. Nationally, almost 4 million people with Medicare saved $2.1 billion on their prescription drug costs as of December 2011. Older Pennsylvanians will continue to see these benefits until the ‘donut hole’ is completely closed in 2020.
As this was a measure I supported I was very pleased to hear this news. I have seen how challenging and frustrating the costs of health care and prescription drugs can be for older Pennsylvanians and this is a great step forward to fix this problem. In 2011, older Americans and people with disabilities saved $300.3 million on blood sugar lowering drugs, $263.2 million on cholesterol lowering drugs, and $120.2 million on blood pressure medications. I look forward to continuing to fight hard for all Pennsylvanians.
Extending the Payroll Tax Cut Through 2012
Today, I will take part in the Payroll Tax Cut Conference Committee’s first meeting, as we begin our work to reach agreement on an employee payroll tax cut for all of 2012.
Just before the holidays, the payroll tax cut, which had been set to expire at the end of December, was extended for two months through February. This extension prevented a tax increase on 6.7 million workers in Pennsylvania and provided some good news for families going into Christmas.
The payroll tax cut reduces employees’ share of the Social Security payroll tax from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent of earnings. For the average Pennsylvania worker, this tax cut will boost take-home pay by nearly $1,000 in 2012.
Hanukkah Greeting
The festive Jewish holiday of Hanukkah began at sundown yesterday and will last eight days. Hanukkah is a time when Jewish Pennsylvanians and families all across America come together to celebrate freedom, faith and miracles. I want to wish everyone celebrating Hanukkah this year a joyful holiday filled with light, health and happiness.
Chag sameach!
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