This is good news. While we have disagreements with some doctors over things like surprise medical billings, this year has taught us how critical and valuable to us all are our medical personnel. This certainly was no time to try to balance the budget on the backs of those who have borne the weight of so many of us this year. ."That estimate tracks closely with the CPI data through August," Johnson says. "Overall inflation readings are very low, but that's almost entirely due to the dramatic drop in oil prices again this year," she notes. Meanwhile, the data show some big jumps in the cost of goods and services that older and disabled Americans use the most. But that won't necessarily translate into higher COLAs, because the index used to calculate the annual Social Security boost is based on the spending patterns of younger working adults. Younger people tend to spend less on health care and housing, and more on gasoline and electronics, two categories that have gone down in recent years. .In May, I introduced bipartisan legislation with Rep. Joe Heck (NV-R). Our plan, the Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act (H.R.5707), ends the broken physician reimbursement system and replaces it with a new, long-term plan that will treat physicians fairly, improve patient outcomes, and reduce costs in Medicare. It also sets us on a long-term path toward greater quality, value, and fiscal responsibility in Medicare and will save billions for taxpayers over the long run. This bill has been endorsed by the Fleet Reserve Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Physicians, the American Geriatrics Society, and other leading organizations. .Recently a group of Medicare patients and their families sued the Obama Administration, saying they were deprived of coverage because the policy allows hospitals to avoid admitting seniors with chronic ailments as inpatients. The plaintiffs charged that the observation services policy, which is intended to apply to short stays of no more than 24 to 48 hours, is instead being used to keep Medicare patients on outpatient status for longer stays, including some lasting up to a week. As a result, the seniors incurred medical charges as high as ,000 for skilled nursing care, drugs and other costs that Medicare Part B does not cover. Inpatient stays are covered under Medicare Part A, and all of ,156 deductible and most, if not all, of the co-insurance is covered by Medigap supplements. .Also last year, I introduced the Medicare Advantage Coverage Transparency Act which was ultimately passed with unanimous support and then signed into law by President Obama. Decision-making in Washington should be based on transparency. A truly representative legislature should foster a culture of openness, which is why this law now requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to offer Congress expanded information on Medicare Advantage enrollment each year based on zip code, congressional district, and state. The purpose of this additional data is to provide greater information to the public, to policymakers, and to the health care community so they may have the most up-to-date information when making decisions. .Only five weeks remain before the conference committee's December 13th deadline, and House and Senate appropriators are urging the conferees to settle on a top-line spending number even earlier – before the Thanksgiving recess begins on November 22nd. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (MD), Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said this week: "We believe that if an agreement on a discretionary spending number can be reached early, it will allow for more thoughtful and responsible spending decisions." .Supporters also stressed the fact that the IPAB has strict limitations. The Board cannot restrict Medicare benefits, raise taxes, increase beneficiaries' cost-sharing, modify eligibility criteria, cut payments to hospitals before 2020, or ration care. Instead, the IPAB will report on healthcare costs, access, quality, and utilization each year, and will make innovative cost-saving recommendations as it sees fit. .Call your plan's mail-order service and compare the prescription costs, including any shipping. Often you can get a three-month supply of your prescription by mail for less money than you would pay for a one-or two-month supply purchased at a standard retail pharmacy, and pay nothing for shipping. But using mail order requires advance planning on your part because you need to allow up to two weeks for delivery. .TSCL feels strongly that the Guaranteed 3 Percent COLA Act would go a long way in ensuring the retirement security seniors have earned and deserve. We lend our enthusiastic support to H.R. 3588, and we look forward to working with Congressman Engle through the remainder of the 114th Congress to help build support for his important new bill.