Experts estimate that fraud, waste, and abuse within Medicare costs more than billion each year. What efforts do you support to ramp up prevention? .TSCL was first established as a special project of TREThe Enlisted Association. On January 1, 1995, TSCL became an independent 501[c][4] citizens' action organization and therefore donations are not tax-deductible. .In addition, two new cosponsors – Congressmen Jim Langevin (RI-2) and Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (MP) – signed on to the Protecting and Preserving Social Security Act (H.R. 3302), which was recently introduced by Congressman Ted Deutch (FL-22). If adopted, his bill would base the COLA on the CPI-E and cover the cost by removing the Social Security payroll tax cap for high earners. H.R. 3302 now has nine cosponsors in the House. ."The group of Democrats blocked one committee from advancing their party's drug-pricing legislation, with two members arguing it was too far-reaching and could stymie innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. Some of those Democrats also want to rein in a proposal to expand Medicare to include dental coverage, a high priority for progressives such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)." .He predicted that lawmakers will pass a six-month "doc fix" later this month in order to buy more time for the offset discussions. If Congress takes that route, the temporary pay patch would expire at the end of September – the same time that funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) will run out. Rep. Price suggested that a permanent repeal of the SGR would likely be rolled into a package with CHIP's reauthorization. .The WEP affects people who worked for a state or local government employer that did not withhold Social Security taxes from salary. When you claim the pension for your work as a police officer, the WEP can reduce your Social Security benefit by as much as half of the amount of your pension. .A few weeks after a 90-year old woman was moved into an assisted living facility, her daughter was surprised to be told that her mother was a good candidate for hospice. The move to assisted living was only intended for help with her mother's daily care, and her. Another Banner Year For Medicare Fraud? , editor .To strengthen Social Security and Medicare, 84% of respondents strongly agreed that Congress should focus on getting Americans back to work. Jobs and the payroll taxes paid by people during their working years finance the benefits received by today's Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries. While jobs were the top deficit fix, only 11% agree with cutting the Social Security payroll tax as a means to generate employment. Congressional leadership and the President are battling over spending cuts and higher taxes that will be needed to avoid hitting a "fiscal cliff" by the end of this year. .In his opening statement, HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (TN) said: "Our focus today is on what happens to the cost of the drug after it is approved by the FDA. We will examine the path an approved drug takes from the manufacturer to patient, and how this path affects what the patient pays … This is a discussion that affects the well-being of every American family. It is important that we work together to conduct this fact finding in a bipartisan way."