But among other things, if consumers can't find the cost of health care, the idea of the free market is impossible. .Under current law, noncitizens who gain temporary work authorization can qualify for long-term Social Security benefits based on work that was done, prior to gaining authorization, under invalid Social Security numbers. Once they receive green cards, they become entitled to benefits based on prior "illegal" work. If elected, would you support legislation to modify this policy? .Seniors have lost almost one-third of their buying power since 2000, according to the 2013 Annual Survey of Senior Costs, conducted by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). TSCL's latest report adds fuel to the heated debate over controversial budget proposals to cut Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). .This week, TSCL announced its support for three new bills: the Social Security Safety Dividend Act (H.R. 67), the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act (S. 41, H.R. 242), and the Safe and Affordable Drugs from Canada Act (S. 64). .The poll, which was conducted in September and October of this year, during the debt limit budget standoff, found that respondents voted higher and more fair COLAs as an even greater priority than "Preventing 20% Social Security Disability Insurance benefit cut" or "increases in Medicare premiums and cost-sharing"— two provisions which were passed in the recent debt deal. .Medicare Advantage plans contract with Medicare to provide all basic Medicare services, and plans receive monthly lump sum payments that cover expected costs for an average Medicare beneficiary. But officials have known for years that some Medicare Advantage plans overbill the government by exaggerating how sick their patients are, or by charging Medicare for treating serious medical conditions that they cannot prove that patients have. Audits of 37 health plans revealed that, on average, auditors could confirm only 60% of the more than 20,000 medical conditions that CMS paid plans to treat. .Fraud is so prevalent that prevention is only part of the solution. One in 20 seniors in the U.S. is a target of fraud schemes. Yet, the National Adult Protective Services Association has found that only one in 44 seniors report that they are victims of a fraud scheme, suggesting seniors lack information on how to file a complaint. .Medicare is structured to pay more to providers based on how sick people are — not on making them well. Yet about one-half of all adults have at least one chronic condition, which is not only the most costly type of health problem to treat over time, but also the most preventable. .This claim, as you probably suspect, is hogwash. The CPI currently used to calculate the COLA underpays, not overpays retirees because it is based on the spending patterns of younger working adults. Yet younger workers spend less than half the amount on healthcare costs than people over the age of 65 do. Retirees also spend a bigger share of their income on housing.