Because a high percentage of taxpayers were affected by under-withholdings due to the problematic tax tables, the IRS allowed a waiver of penalties for both 2009 and 2010 tax years. But taxpayers have to request the waiver of penalties in order to receive it. According to the Treasury Inspector General, last year virtually no taxpayer surveyed knew they could request a waiver. .Alexandria, VSpiking drug prices are taking large numbers of Medicare beneficiaries by surprise according to a new survey by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). Sixty-one percent of people with Medicare drug coverage report higher co-pays and co-insurance costs than expected in 2014 according to more than 1,000 survey participants. The reason for the cost spikes may be tough for many beneficiaries to figure out, according to the survey. Sky-high drug prices are commonly associated with brand and newer specialty drugs, but cost spikes are now affecting generics as well. .That is why we are letting you know that the American Medical Association said this week that neither doctors nor the general public should use coronavirus antibody tests to determine whether someone is protected from the pathogen. .Conn received more than .5 million in attorney's fees from the Social Security Administration, making him the third highest paid disability lawyer in the country. Reviews of Dougherty's bank accounts found ,000 in unexplained deposits. Senator Tom Coburn (OK) told 60 Minutes, "If all these people are disabled…I want them all to get it and then we need to figure out how we're going to fund it. But my investigation tells me and my common sense tells me that we got a system that's being gamed pretty big now." .Legislation to Stop Medicare Cuts Passes in Senate .As a member of Congress, I have sought to protect Social Security and have advocated for seniors. From writing to President Obama urging him to exclude chained Consumer Price Index (CPI) from his 2015 budget to drafting legislation to help seniors save on tax deductions for medical expenses — I have fought to ensure Congress does not try to balance the budget on the backs of seniors. .Senate investigators recently explored one such astonishing case. They took a closer look at a disability attorney and retired Social Security judge who practiced along the border area of Kentucky and West Virginia. Some 10 to 15 percent of the entire population of the area — about three times the national average — is on disability. .Some Members of Congress question whether the federal government would replace borrowing for Defense with borrowing for Medicare. Democratic Rep. Allyson Schwartz (PA-13) said the savings from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars would "offer a unique and limited opportunity to resolve this problem that grows every month." Other legislators warn, however, that it is misleading to think that these savings could be used as a "doc fix" offset. .In addition, one new cosponsor – Rep. John Larson (CT-1) – signed on to the Strengthening Social Security Act (H.R. 3118), bringing the total up fifty-eight. If signed into law, the bill would reform the Social Security program in three ways: it would adjust the benefit formula, resulting in more generous monthly benefits; it would adopt the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E), resulting in more accurate cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), and it would lift the cap on income subject to the payroll tax. It would extend the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund responsibly, without cutting benefits for seniors.