Raise the age—currently 67 for people born in 1960 or later— at which workers become eligible for full retirement benefits; or .Get routine physicals and screenings done prior to the start of Medicare's annual Part D Open Enrollment. Case in point: My client had problems with her new blood pressure medication. It was one of the most common and inexpensive generics but she suffered from extreme fatigue and depression. At my urging, she returned to her doctor and was given a new brand prescription to try and a 7-day free sample. She felt better right away. Routine physicals and screenings are generally scheduled about 12 months apart, but try to get them completed about 30 days BEFORE the annual fall Medicare Part D Open Enrollment period, so you can allow for a trial period with any new meds. When you get your new prescription, ask your doctor or pharmacist for a complete list of side effects or possible drug interactions. Keep a list of symptoms if you don't start feeling better. .Safeguarding the health of all Americans and protecting Social Security and Medicare is of primary importance now. The Senior Citizens League is working for legislation that would help strengthen Social Security. How has the coronavirus affected you? Take TSCL's Survey of Senior Costs. .Trump's administration "has decided to pursue a radical and dangerous policy to set prices based on rates paid in countries that he has labeled as socialist, which will harm patients today and into the future," Stephen Ubl, the head of PhRMA, said in a statement. .My pulmonologist ordered a CT scan, but the person scheduling appointments said they first had to check my insurance. Is this correct? I'm covered by Medicare and a Medicare Advantage plan. I thought I would be covered for any medically necessary CT scan. .Instead of using the CPI-W or the "chained" CPI, TSCL has been advocating for an inflation index that we believe would actually result in a more accurate Social Security COLA. We favor the CPI for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E), which the BLS has been tracking &ndah; but not utilizing – for decades. This index has shown that the spending inflation for seniors averages about two-tenths of a percentage point higher than the rate at which the CPI-W increases. We estimate that a senior who retired with average Social Security benefits in 1984 would have received ,496 more through 2013 had the CPI-E been used. .I'm still working and will turn 65 in July of this year. I currently get my health insurance through my employer. We have more than 20 employees and I've been told I can keep my employer's health insurance instead of starting Medicare in July. The health insurance that I have now is pretty expensive and the deductibles are high. How can I compare the costs between the two types of insurance? .Medicare Has a Tele-Scam Problem Telephone scammers are bilking Medicare out of billions of dollars, and bombarding millions of older U.S. consumers with multiple daily automated phone calls for everything from "free" back braces to genetic tests. While Medicare scams have been with us for decades, what's new is the use of automated calling technology, and the massive international scale. Medicare Advantage Insurers Overcharged Medicare By Nearly Billion Medicare Advantage plans have overcharged Medicare by almost billion in recent years, but so far officials have only recovered a small fraction of that money. The federal government has announced it is stepping up efforts to recover those funds and TSCL is closely watching to see that it does. .In addition, the agreements allow workers who split their careers in two or more nations to combine or "totalize" work credits from both countries. That allows them to become eligible for retirement benefits proportional to the amount of credits earned in either country. Although the U.S. has 24 such totalization agreements, most are with countries like the U.K. and Canada that have economies similar to ours. At issue in totalization with Mexico is whether millions of immigrants who have worked in this country without legal work authorization, along with their family dependents, would become eligible for U.S. Social Security benefits under the agreement.