Medicare Advantage plans are booming in popularity with retirees, as a low-cost health coverage alternative. In 2016, the plans cover more than 18 million people, but troubling audits indicate that many plans are overbilling the government for many, if not the majority, of the patients treated. Because overcharges drive up Medicare program spending, the higher costs are shifted to all people enrolled in Medicare through rising Part B premiums— even to people who never enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan. .Several lawmakers at Tuesday's hearing promoted legislation they introduced this year to combat rising costs. Senator Al Franken (MN) asked his fellow committee members to support his Improving Access to Affordable Prescription Drugs Act (S. 771), which would take comprehensive steps to reform the prescription drug industry. In addition, Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) urged those on the committee to cosponsor his bipartisan Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act (S. 469), which would allow individuals and pharmacies to import prescription drugs from approved pharmacies in Canada. .The odds are high that someone you know is receiving lower Social Security benefits than they deserve. Two federal laws – the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) – affect millions of our nation's dedicated teachers, firefighters, peace officers, and other public servants by unfairly reducing or eliminating their earned Social Security benefits. .While Part D and Medicare Advantage have proven popular with seniors, nobody is lining up at the doors during the fall Open Enrollment to shop for and compare plans. The vast majority of beneficiaries, more than 80% according to TSCL Senior Surveys, don't compare their Part D or Medicare Advantage plan, and consequently don't reap any savings from competition between plans. If Congress were to convert all of Medicare to premium support in the future, the devil will be in the funding details — finding the balance between saving the federal government money while still keeping the program affordable for beneficiaries. And so far premium support hasn't been any magic bullet for reducing federal spending on Medicare. .If you do not want to receive e-mails from us in the future, please unsubscribe here. .Now that March has arrived, winter is starting to appear in the rearview mirror, large sections of the country will experience unseasonably warm temperatures this week, Covid-19 vaccinations are picking up, and we are all getting tired of living the way we have for the past year. .The massive cost of both House and Senate tax bills, estimated to add .5 trillion to the deficit, will trigger automatic spending cuts in 2018 due to language in the Statutory Pay-as-You Go Act of 20The Act, commonly known as "pay-go", prevents legislation from adding too much money to the deficit. Because the .5 trillion cost of the bill is not adequately offset, the Medicare program will see billion in cuts in 2018, and other critical programs like Meals on Wheels would see their budgets slashed. Lawmakers have said they will pass legislation early next year to avert these cuts, but that remains uncertain. .However, according to a 2015 report, older Americans lose approximately .5 billion each year to financial scams and abuse, and these numbers are increasing as technology makes it easier for scammers to target older Americans. A 2016 survey from the Investor Protection Trust found that almost 1-in-5 seniors, approximately 7 million Americans, have reported being victims of exploitation. .In reality, no Social Security reduction is small, because the loss compounds over time. The problem is especially unacceptable when this problem can be prevented by Congress in the first place. Individuals who were born in 1949 and who retired at age 66 with average benefits have lost about ,915 through the end of 2021, due to the reduction in the AWI in 200Their benefits today are about per month lower than what they otherwise would have received had they been born one year earlier. Even worse is the loss over time. Assuming that an individual lives to age 90, retirees born in 1949 would lose an additional ,297 in lifetime Social Security benefits—or even more, if their benefits are higher than average. This type of benefit reduction is known as a "notch" in benefits, and those affected might be referred to as the "1949 notch babies."