Sources: "How Much ‘Skin In The Game' Is Enough?", Kaiser Family Foundations, June 201"Measuring Price Change For Medical Care In The CPI," Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed March 3, 2012. .The 1977 legislation was intended to correct an earlier flaw in the Social Security benefit formula. That flaw raised the initial retirement benefits for future retirees too quickly. Government economists predicted at the time that, if not corrected, the initial monthly benefits of future retirees could be greater than their monthly earnings prior to retirement - far above the levels ever anticipated (2). The flawed benefit formula would bankrupt Social Security. .More Harmful Chemicals Found in Some Hand Sanitizers .Speaker of the House Paul Ryan announced earlier this year that he wants to overhaul entitlement spending. TSCL is concerned that, after the elections, Congress could address rising deficits by moving legislation that would cut Social Security benefits. .This makes additional protective measures such as mask-wearing all the more necessary. .In addition, U.S. Customs may be trying to clamp down on prescription drugs being shipped to American consumers from Canadian pharmacies. Although "reimportation" of prescription drugs from abroad continues to be illegal, Customs and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials have only intermittently seized shipments of Canadian drugs in the past. Canadian mail order pharmacies and drug-buying programs run by senior advocates reported earlier this year that the number of seizures has more than quadrupled recently. .The witnesses at this hearing defended a number of payment provisions that may expire if Congress doesn't act soon, including add-on payments for mental health and ambulance services, and hold harmless payments for rural hospitals. When looked at separately the costs of these provisions seem minor, but if each of them were to expire at the end of this year, the federal government would save billion. The potential savings attracted most at the hearing, but Ranking Member Pete Stark (CA) reminded the Subcommittee that many of the provisions "ensure critical access to needy Medicare beneficiaries." .The number of observation patients has exploded 88 percent over the past six years, according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. Medicare has tightened rules for hospital admissions, and usually won't pay for admitted patients who should have been designated as observation status. Consequently, hospitals have increased their share of observation patients. But the rule is not the same for people's private insurance like Medicare Advantage. Most Medicare Advantage plans don't require their enrollees to have a three-day hospital admission in order to receive nursing home coverage, according to an analysis by Avalere Health research firm. .However, taking this action would cause at least two difficulties for the President. Signing legislation to reduce Medicare spending on the drugs would generate official budget savings that Congress could have applied to other health-care legislation -- bills to expand insurance coverage or reduce other drug spending, for example. Executive action taken before a bill's passage would remove a key bargaining chip, and likely reduce the scope of a health-care bill expected in the coming months.