Lawmakers remained in their home states and districts this week for the August recess. They are expected to return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, September 8th. In the meantime, many Members of Congress will attend local events and hold town hall meetings, giving constituents an excellent opportunity to voice their concerns and have their most pressing questions answered. .Here are some questions to consider in shopping for dental insurance: .However, others at Tuesday's hearing focused on the skyrocketing prescription drug costs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries. In his opening statement, Ranking Member Ron Wyden (OR) said, "The fact is, seniors are getting pounded by drug costs. And in my view, there is an enormous amount of work that has to be done to guarantee that seniors have affordable access to the medications they need." .According to the non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation, the average Medicare Part D plan premium increase for 2016 is likely to be the largest since 200In addition, Medicare Part B premiums will increase more than 16 percent, from 4.90 to 1.80 per month, for about one in three beneficiaries next year, and that's after legislation that reduced the increase. .These trends are likely to continue a rapid climb in years to come. The first jump in the ESF coincided with the big increase in illegal immigration of 1970's. When Congress overhauled immigration laws in 1986, amnesty was offered to immigrants who could prove they were longtime, law-abiding residents. About 3.1 million were legalized, twice as many as the government expected. Because the law had no provisions for any new workers to enter, illegal immigration continued.(8) .Sources: "Report: Social Security Numbers Active For 6.5 Million People Aged 112," Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press, March 14, 201"Man Impersonates Dead Mother To Collect 5,000 In Social Security, Rent Subsidies," New York Daily News, June 17, 2009. .Health care for seniors is also one of the top issues on our agenda at TSCL and we have been talking to Congressional offices about our concerns. That's why we were happy to see progress this week regarding the issue of surprise medical billing. Surprise billing has been a real problem for some seniors who have Medicare Advantage. It's an issue that TSCL has been discussing with Congress and that we've written about for the last few weeks. .Resources: The Medicare Rights Center has an online tool called "Medicare Interactive" that can answer more of your questions about prescription drug coverage. Try it at www.MedicareInteractive.org. .Social Security recipients can look forward to receiving an annual cost – of – living adjustment (COLA) of about 1.8 percent in 2018, according to an estimate released today by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). "A COLA of that amount would make it the highest since 2012 — but even at 1.8 percent, the raise is less than half of the 4 percent that COLAs averaged from 2000-2009," says TSCL's Social Security policy analyst, Mary Johnson.