No further information about the bill is available at this point but as soon as it is TSCL will review it to determine whether we will support it. .One new cosponsor – Rep. Denny Heck (WA-10) – signed on to Rep. Allyson Schwartz's (PA-13) Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act (H.R. 574) this week, bringing the total up to thirty-three. The bill, if signed into law, would repeal and replace the faulty formula that is currently used to determine reimbursements for physicians who treat Medicare patients. .Using the budget reconciliation process, lawmakers are expected to successfully repeal the Affordable Care Act by early February. The legislation will be filibuster-proof, and will only require a simple majority of fifty-one votes to win passage in the Senate. .If your prescription drug costs are outgrowing your ability to pay for your medicine, look into Medicare's "Extra Help" program. The program helps pay for some, or most, of the costs of Medicare prescription drug coverage, depending on income. In addition, there's no doughnut hole coverage gap that leaves you footing the bill for a larger share of the co-insurance, there's no late enrollment penalty, and you have the chance to switch plans at any time. According to the 2018 Medicare & You Handbook, drug costs in 2018 for people who qualify will be no more than .35 for generics and .35 for brand-name drugs. .Sources: "Complementary And Alternative Medicine Products And Their Regulation By The Food And Drug Administration," FDA, December 200"Complimentary And Alternative Medicine Use Among Adults: United States 2002," CDC, May 27, 2004. .It is believed that Trump issued the executive orders because a drive to enact major legislation this year stalled in Congress. Although Trump has told Republican senators that lowering prescription prices is 'something you have to do,' many remain reluctant to use federal authority to force drug makers to charge less. .More than 10,000 people died waiting for a disability decision from the Social Security Administration in 201The rising death toll coincides with the growing backlog of people awaiting a decision about their eligibility for Social Security disability insurance benefits. But even after a disabled individual has been found eligible, he or she must wait 5 months for benefits to begin, and 2 whole years before Medicare benefits start. The long waits, especially for Medicare, have forced many low to middle-income disabled beneficiaries to deplete their savings while they wait. .The study found that a person who retired in 2000 — with an average Social Security benefit of 6 per month — would have ,246.20 per month by 2020. However, because retiree costs are rising at a substantially faster pace than the COLA, that individual would require a Social Security benefit of 0.00 more per month, or a total of ,626.20 in 2020, just to maintain his or her 2000 level of buying power. .This week, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) saw three critical bills – the Credit for Caring Act, the Social Security Fairness Act, and the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act – gain new cosponsors on Capitol Hill.