Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who was the Senate Majority Leader at that time, refused to even bring the bill up for a vote on the Senate floor. .On Thursday, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a high-profile hearing on recent developments in the prescription drug market. According to the committee, thirty of the top-selling drugs in the United States experienced price increases of 76 percent between 2010 and 2014 – eight times the general inflation rate. .For more information, or to see if your Members of Congress have scheduled town halls before the November elections, call their local offices..The issue of physician choice and access to care for Medicare recipients arises time and again as Congress has taken last minute action to prevent drastic cuts to physician reimbursements. Only repeated, last-minute actions have saved doctors from substantial pay cuts. Cutting reimbursements for doctors has surface appeal because it does not require seniors to pay additional dollars out-of-pocket. However, there is a hidden cost. Physicians who live under constant fear of substantial cuts may opt to stop serving Medicare patients, resulting in loss of access to care for many seniors. .Sources: "An 87 Year Old Nun Said She Was Raped In Her Nursing Home. Here's Why She Couldn't Sue," Haley Sweetland Edwards, Time, November 16, 201"House Passes Ban on Forced Arbitration, Class Action Limits, Jaclyn Diaz, Bloomberg Government, September 20, 2019. .Individuals with incomes below ,000, and whose Part B premiums are automatically deducted from their Social Security benefits, are protected from a reduction in their Social Security benefits when Part B premiums increase more than their Social Security benefits. The provision was triggered twice in recent years, in 2016 when there was no COLA, and in 2017 when the COLA was just 0.3%. .TSCL agrees with Rep. Johnson, and we believe Congress must begin formulating a serious plan to fix the program's finances. Recently, we announced our support for two pieces of legislation that we believe are long overdue. One bill (S. 499 / H.R. 918) would prevent beneficiaries from collecting both unemployment benefits and disability insurance benefits at the same time. The second bill (S. 1198 / H.R. 1936) would ensure that evidence from convicted felons and other criminals is excluded when determining whether an individual is eligible for disability benefits. .Because of that, it now appears both the House and Senate will pass the NDAA and attempt to override the President's veto if he keeps his threat. .The Social Security COLA is provided to help protect the buying power of benefits when costs rise due to inflation. Yet even under the current method of adjusting benefits, Social Security benefits have lost 30 percent of buying power since 2000, according to a recent report released by TSCL. "Switching to the chained CPI would mean the erosion in the buying power of Social Security benefits would occur at faster rates than is already occurring today," says Johnson. "That puts retirees at higher risk of depleting retirement savings more quickly than expected, going into debt, and going without." According to Johnson's analysis, if the proposal were to take effect this year, average benefits would be about per month lower by 2026, and about per month lower in 20 years.