Health care for seniors is also one of the top issues on our agenda at TSCL and we have been talking to Congressional offices about our concerns. That's why we were happy to see progress this week regarding the issue of surprise medical billing. Surprise billing has been a real problem for some seniors who have Medicare Advantage. It's an issue that TSCL has been discussing with Congress and that we've written about for the last few weeks. .By Representative Donald Norcross (NJ-01) .Genetic testing is not routinely used by doctors to screen for cancer. Here's how the scam works— The "target" (that's anyone close to age 65 and up) might receive automated phone calls, often multiple times a week, or may be approached in-person by a "recruiter." The recruiter, who may present herself as a "certified Medicare counselor," convinces the target to take a genetic test promising that Medicare pays the full cost. The patient, however, often never receives a report, or the report may be incomprehensible. .GAO found that many individuals do not fully understand that their benefits will continue to grow the longer they wait to collect them. In addition, GAO found that many field offices are not consistently providing the information individuals need to make informed decisions. As a result, many older Americans may begin collecting Social Security benefits earlier than necessary without knowing the financial consequences. .28% Of Medicare Beneficiaries Hit Doughnut Hole In 2015 .As your mom moves through stages of Alzheimer's, she will need more care over time. The medicines used to treat Alzheimer's only control symptoms, such as memory loss and confusion, but cannot cure the disease. The symptoms inevitably will get worse and because of this, eventually your mom will need more help than you can supply at home. ."Opting out" of a former employer's coverage on occasion might be able to save you money, but it requires careful cost comparisons and sound guidance. Never make any change without first getting the unbiased advice from a trained Medicare benefits counselor. The service is provided free of charge through your State Health Insurance Program and is available at many local Agencies on Aging. Check your local yellow pages. .Depending on the size of COLAs and the amount of the Medicare Part B premium increase in following years, it may well take Sally another year, possibly even longer, to see any increase in her net benefit. Meanwhile Sally's other household costs have made big jumps. .For years, workers were told to rely on a combination of Social Security, workplace pensions and their personal retirement savings. However, over the past 30 years or so the landscape of retirement savings has dramatically shifted. Traditional workplace pensions have shifted to 401(k) plans while some have been eliminated altogether, and the recent financial and housing collapse left many households with dramatically less value in homes and retirement funds. Partly as a result of these changes, many baby boomers and other future retirees are facing greater "risks" of not having enough to live on in their retirements. According to the Center for Retirement Research, 51 percent of households are "at risk" of not being able to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living.