Terry: The anchor effect is the psychological tendency to rely too much on the first piece of information we get in the process of making a decision. For example, when you go to buy a house, the list price becomes the starting point (the "anchor") for negotiations, even if it is a very poor reflection of the home's true value. When you get a solicitation for a charitable donation in the mail, it often lists suggested contributions, starting with the highest figure they hope you will select. That high figure becomes the anchor for your thinking about what to give. .Medicare's Fall Open Enrollment Period started on October 15th and will run through December 7th. For the past 14 years, I have volunteered to help neighbors and friends learn about changes in their current Part D prescription drug or Medicare Advantage coverage during this period. We compare options, track down the lowest costing plans and pharmacies, and often switch to a lower-costing plan when there's a better deal. .Last fall, the Government Accountability Office uncovered .3 billion in improper payments from December 2010 to January 2013 made to people who had jobs when they were supposed to be unable to work. To be eligible for Social Security disability, beneficiaries must be unable to work due to a medical condition that's expected to last at least one year, or result in death. The list, however, includes murky afflictions like back pain, depression and other un-measurable afflictions, opening the system to fraud and abuse. .In addition, three new cosponsors signed on to the Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures (PRIME) Act (S. 1123 and H.R. 2305) this week, bringing the total up to twenty-four in the Senate and thirty-four in the House. If signed into law, the comprehensive bill would take a number of steps to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse within the two programs – a problem that TSCL believes must be addressed in order to ensure that scarce program dollars are being spent properly. The new cosponsors are Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (NH-1), and Rep. Jackie Speier (CA-14). .The plan contained a list of 50 military treatment facilities that would see changes in some way over the next several years in the services they offer. Of those, 37 would stop seeing military family members and retirees altogether. At least 12 states would have more than one treatment facility changed with regard to its mission. .Now the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has told hospitals they can't hide their prices from web searches. .The potential cost of illegal immigration on federal benefit programs is for now still flying under the radar as political candidates vie for votes. Latinos are becoming a key electorate group. In 2010, The National Council of La Raza estimated that 20 million Latinos were eligible to vote in the 2010 elections — representing the fastest electorate growth rate of any group in the U.S. .Hunger and food insecurity is a huge problem in America. Nearly 41 million Americans struggle to put food on the table each day, including five million seniors. Because of their lack of income, many of our seniors are often faced with the frightening decision of whether to purchase food or medicine. .An abrupt jump in inflation in February and March of this year wiped out a short-lived improvement in the buying power of Social Security benefits in 2020, according to TSCL's latest study on rising senior costs. The study, which compares the growth in the Social Security cost of living adjustments (COLA)s with increases in the costs of goods and services typically used by retirees, found that, while consumer prices flatlined in 2020 through January 2021, costs are now sharply increasing.