According to the committee report, a (now retired) Social Security judge, David B. Daugherty, schemed with a disability attorney Eric C. Conn, improperly awarding benefits to "virtually all" of Conn's 1,823 clients. The decisions were based on recommendations by an unusually loyal group of doctors who "often examined Conn's clients right in his law offices" according to a CBS News "60 Minutes" program. .Medicare's 2021 physician fee schedule would've cut payments for radiology by 10%; physical/occupational therapy by 9%; anesthesiology and cardiac surgery by 8%; critical care by 7%; general surgery by 6%, and infectious disease by 4%. .The order covers certain medical supplies that are deemed essential, as well. .For progress updates or for more information about these and other bills that would strengthen Social Security and Medicare programs, visit the our website at , follow TSCL on Twitter or Facebook. .Given that disabled beneficiaries would receive on average 0,000 prior to transferring to Social Security benefits, even the smallest error in determining eligibility can result in significant overpayments. TSCL believes that the government should make every effort to perform timely continuing disability reviews (CDRs) to ensure that benefits are only paid out to those who are eligible. The Social Security Administration estimates that every spent on medical CDRs yields about in SSA program savings over ten years. Currently the CDR backlog stands at 1.2 million. SSA's goal for FY2013 is 435,000 CDRs based on the current level of funding. .The foam has been more effective in clearing most of Graves' symptoms and her Medicare Part D plan has paid for most of the cost of the "golden foam" so far. But Graves is keeping use of the medicine to a minimum, not only for health reasons, but because she doesn't want to run through her Part D initial coverage limit and hit the doughnut hole. .The good news is that there was progress last week in moving the needed legislation forward. The Senate passed its own version of H.R.1868, which would postpone the cuts for another nine months. .The way to learn about your drug plan choices is to use the Medicare Drug Plan Finder at www.medicare.gov. You will need a complete up-to-date list of your current prescriptions. Correct spelling is essential. Using a computer, either you or a Medicare benefits counselor will input your information and prescription information. The Drug Plan Finder will pull up a list of all the plans in your area and the estimated costs for each based on the prescription you currently use. .The following does not necessarily reflect the views of The Senior Citizens League.