The President believes tying drug prices in the U.S. to those in other countries will bring down the prices here. However, the effect of his order won't be seen for some time and will only cover certain prescription drugs. The executive order requires that the secretary of Health and Human Services immediately test a payment model for Medicare to pay "no more than the most-favored-nation price," meaning the lowest price paid in other developed countries, for specific "high-cost" prescription drugs and products. .(Washington, DC) – Older Americans are not to blame for an exploding federal budget deficit warns The Senior Citizens League. "Congress can't cut taxes by an estimated .7 trillion and then turn around and blame rising deficits on ‘entitlements' and aging," says Mary Johnson, a Social Security and Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League. .As a country, we also need to encourage generations of all ages to be informed about their options for retirement saving and to take personal responsibility for their own financial planning, including understanding the extent of their senior benefits such as Medicare or Social Security or taking advantage of the fact that many employers will match what American workers choose to contribute to their retirement, which means twice the savings. Currently, for many Americans, their personal savings fall well short of what they will need to continue to fund their standards of living after retiring from the workforce full-time – and I worry that each generation is saving less. If financial planning feels overwhelming, there are many existing resources you can access to help ensure you are effectively utilizing your options. The Department of Labor has created a guide called the Top 10 Ways to Prepare for Retirement to help with practical tips for building retirement savings. USA.gov provides an outline of your options for saving as well as a list of questions to ask yourself to ensure you're planning sufficiently for your future. You can also use a retirement calculator to find out the best age to claim your Social Security benefits. If you are experiencing a problem with your pension, profit sharing, or retirement savings plans, USA.gov points to the Pension Rights Center as a potential source of free legal assistance or advice. Knowledge is power, and it's important that Americans of all ages are informed of their options so that they can plan appropriately for their futures. .This week, four new cosponsors signed on to the bipartisan Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act (H.R. 711), bringing the total up to 11The new cosponsors are Reps. Don Young (AK-1), Carlos Curbelo (FL-26), Brenda Lawrence (MI-14), and Erik Paulsen (MN-3). .However, the statisticians behind it at the University of Washington have since changed their methods, and they now estimate that doing away with social distancing measures could entail vast numbers of deaths, and that widespread mask-wearing in public could save tens of thousands of lives. .The definition of disability under Social Security is different from other programs. Social Security only pays benefits for total disability, and none are paid for partial or a short-term disability. To determine if your husband is disabled, the Social Security Administration will examine the following: .Republicans Sweep Tuesday's Elections .Another Social Security reform bill – the Social Security for Future Generations Act (H.R. 2855) from Congressman Al Lawson, Jr. (FL-5) – gained one new cosponsor this week. The new cosponsor, Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (MP-1), is the nineteenth lawmaker to officially sign on to the bill. If adopted, it would strengthen and improve the program by adopting the CPI-E, applying the payroll tax to income over 0,000, creating a new benefit for widows and widowers, and increasing the Special Minimum Benefit so it equals 125 percent of the poverty line. .This week, TSCL's legislative consultants, Former Congressman David Funderburk and Mrs. Betty Funderburk, along with TSCL's legislative assistant, Jarrad Hensley, were on Capitol Hill for meetings with Members of Congress and their top staff.