With the Medicare physician payment "doc fix" scheduled to cease at the end of February, lawmakers remain divided on where the funding will come from to extend the current level of payments to doctors. If the current "doc fix" expires, physicians' reimbursements will be reduced by a 27 percent rate. .Although not many studies exist, according to one study of average earners born from 1917 through 1926, the disparity in benefits with other retirees seems to average about 26%. .First, two new cosponsors – Senator Chris Van Hollen (MD) and Senator Deb Fischer (NE) – signed on to the bipartisan Know the Lowest Price Act (S. 2553), bringing the total up to thirteen. If adopted, the bill would prohibit "gag clauses" that prevent pharmacists from telling patients when their prescriptions would be cheaper out-of-pocket than through their insurance plans. .The TSCL legislative team continues to work diligently to promote the issues affecting our members. While much of this week's success was focused on current bills, our team also strives to stay on top of forth-coming legislation yet to be formally introduced. The work of our committed legislative team enables TSCL to keep capable eyes and ears on Congress' inner-workings to better represent the concerns of our valued members. .Sixty – seven percent of seniors participating in the survey said they already spend up to one-third of their Social Security benefits on Medicare costs. Another 21 percent said they spent up to one-half. "Because healthcare costs are rising more rapidly than Social Security benefits, spending on Medicare takes an increasing share of senior income as seniors age," says Cates. .There's no need for such radical changes to the system in order to preserve Social Security for future generations. The Social Security system can be made solvent for generations to come by adopting some of the relatively modest policy changes proposed by the Social Security Trustees. We certainly shouldn't undermine the entire Social Security program with some harebrained privatization scheme that bankrupts Social Security in the short run and offers no guarantee of decent benefits in the long run. .I believe it is imperative that we fully support programs that protect the nation's most vulnerable, and ensure that they can easily access them in their time of need. The SNAP Simplification for the Elderly Act will make great strides in that direction. .TSCL has been working to get legislation enacted that would require a minimum COLA of no less than 3%, even in years when inflation falls below that amount. There's a lot of money at stake for retirees. An analysis prepared by Advisor editor Mary Johnson estimates that Social Security benefits for anyone retired since 2009 would be 18% higher today had Social Security recipients been protected by such a 3% minimum. An average benefit of ,075 in 2009 has increased to ,229.60 in 201But had beneficiaries received a minimum COLA of no less than 3%, that benefit would be ,453.10 per month today — more than 3.50 per month higher! .Thousands of nursing homes across the country have not been checked to see if staff are following proper procedures to prevent coronavirus transmission, a form of community spread that is responsible for more than a quarter of the nation's Covid-19 fatalities.