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On Oct. 18, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launched two new tools on the Medicare Web site to help beneficiaries select prescription drug plans. The Medicare Prescription Drug Finder Plan allows Medicare beneficiaries to compare deductibles, co-payments and monthly premiums available under each prescription drug plan. CMS says it intends to add other information, such as data on prescription drug prices available under each plan, before the enrollment period begins on Nov. 15. The tool does not include information about the current prescription drug coverage of beneficiaries; CMS officials said that employers and unions had until the end of October to submit the data. CMS administrator Mark McClellan said that the full launch of the tool will occur after the agency completes personal records for all Medicare beneficiaries. �Right now [the Web site�s] main use is for training and familiarity purposes for those who work with beneficiaries,� McClellan noted. �It�s not yet time to use the tool to make your decision,� he said. The second tool launched provides information about which Medicare prescription drug plans are offered in different counties. The information includes the names of the plans, monthly premiums, annual deductibles, co-pays, gaps in coverage and data on mail-order services. Bill Vaughn, a policy analyst with Consumers Union, said, �All of the different volunteers need to roll up their sleeves and get ready for some massive education.� Check out the tools for yourself at http://www.Medicare.gov. You can find additional information about Part D and the other parts of Medicare on the joint AFT/Medicare Rights Center Web site: www.medicareinteractive.org/aft.
BUSH TAX PANEL WOULD END BREAKS FOR STATE AND LOCAL TAXES, HOME MORTGAGES; MAKE EMPLOYER-PAID HEALTH PREMIUMS TAXABLE
The tax advisory commission, appointed by President Bush earlier this year, agreed on Oct. 18 to recommend two alternative plans, both of which would limit or eliminate almost all existing tax deductions, including those for state and local income and property taxes. The plans would also sharply limit the tax break for home mortgage interest. The panel�s plans would substitute tax credits for many deductions. For example, the deduction for interest on a home mortgage, the biggest write-off for many taxpayers, would be replaced with a tax credit equal to 15 percent of the interest paid on one home. The credit would apply only to interest on first-home mortgages up to the limit for loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration. That level changes each year and varies depending on housing costs in each county, with a current maximum loan limit of $312,895, in communities where housing is most expensive, and a national average of about $244,000. The plans would be devastating for states like California and New York where real estate values have skyrocketed, and home-ownership is increasingly out of reach for more and more people. Employer-paid health insurance premiums above $5,000 a year for an individual and $11,500 for a family policy would be treated as income to workers and retirees and taxed accordingly. The proposal also would reduce the number of federal tax brackets. Today, there are six, ranging from 10 percent to 35 percent. Under the proposal, there would be four, ranging from 15 percent to 33 percent. The maximum corporate tax rate would fall to 32 percent from 35 percent. The proposal also calls for eliminating the alternative minimum tax, which raises taxes for a small but rapidly growing number of middle- and upper-middle-income taxpayers. Repealing the alternative minimum tax would reduce taxes for many Americans, but eliminating the deduction for state and local taxes would raise them for many more.