Last year, my office received reports of people coming up to the doors of our elders, posing as census takers or COVID testers, and requesting sensitive information like Social Security numbers and other forms of identification -- something that real census takers or health workers would never do. .How much are you spending on prescriptions? Be sure to take TSCL's 2019 Senior Survey and let us know. TSCL is working with Members of Congress to enact legislation that would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices and supports bills that would cap or reduce out-of-pocket spending. .Recently we heard from Barbara B. of Indiana who was affected in a similar way last year, but who will finally catch up in 201Barbara's net Social Security benefit, after deduction for Part B premium, has remained exactly the same for the past three years. She hasn't seen an increase in her benefits since 2015, despite a 2% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2018. .As a result, experts have been saying that even people who have been vaccinated should continue to wear masks and keep their distance from others. .TSCL believes that the Supplemental Poverty Measure is a more fair and appropriate measure of poverty today. We encourage you to ask Congressional candidates where they stand on programs to reduce poverty affecting older Americans. .Americans 65 and Older See Largest Increase in Poverty .The first new rule affects Medicare Part B drug costs, which are typically infused or injected drugs used mainly in the treatment of cancer. The intent is to cap the cost of those drugs at the lowest price that drug manufacturers receive in other countries and to pay doctors a flat fee for each dose of a drug, instead of a percentage of each drug's cost. .TSCL strongly believes that the current formula breeds uncertainty within the Medicare program. Some doctors have stopped accepting Medicare patients due to the steep pay cuts that the formula regularly calls for, and many more are threatening to do so if a permanent solution is not established soon. Rep. Schwartz's bill would do just that, bringing much-needed stability to the program for both doctors and seniors. TSCL enthusiastically supports H.R. 574, and we were pleased to see support grow for it this week. .Two weeks after President Trump signed an executive order "Lowering Drug Prices by Putting America First," the White House still has not released the text of the order. The unorthodox move is apparently a leverage play, an attempt to squeeze drug companies into offering concessions.