The Senior Citizens League is pleased that leaders in Washington have temporarily reopened the federal government, and we are hopeful that they will act responsibly in the days ahead to ensure that it remains fully funded. We will continue to monitor the negotiations closely in the coming days, and we will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website. .TSCL believes a better approach to Medicare Advantage "risk adjustments" is needed, and should be written into law, rather than left to the discretion of politically appointed Medicare administrators. Congress could do this by writing a method for calculating the adjustment into the law. This approach would make payment for MA plans more like payment for other Medicare providers. .Common sense suggests that the slowdown in rising Medicare costs is unlikely to last long. Medicare spending results for two main reasons: .In other words, next year's COLA could be calculated based at least in part on guesses. That could be disastrous for seniors. .To see if your Members of Congress will be holding town hall meetings during the spring recess, click HERE or call their local offices. You can find contact information HERE. .The Neal bill was passed by the Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday of this week. It would ban surprise billing using an arbitration process favored by hospitals and specialty physician groups but opposed by insurers, employers and labor unions. Neal's legislation would send all the disputes that can't be settled between the parties to arbitration but require mediators to consider median contracted rates used by health plans, with the mediators prohibited from considering "usual and customary charges," also known as "billed charges." .For updates on the three bills endorsed by TSCL this week, follow the Legislative News or the Track Bills sections of our website. To view TSCL's full legislative agenda for the 115th Congress, click HERE. .In the Senate, Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (IA) has also prioritized this critical issue. His first hearing as chairman was titled "Drug Pricing in AmericA Prescription for Change" and, in his opening statement, he vowed to get to the bottom of the growing problem. Following that hearing in January, Chairman Grassley called upon seven of the most profitable pharmaceutical companies to testify before the committee, saying: "Patients and taxpayers deserve to hear from leaders in the industry about what's behind this unsustainable trend." .In December — just before the 115th Congress came to a close — The Senior Citizens League's (TSCL's) Board of Trustees member and Legislative Liaison Joe Kluck traveled to Capitol Hill to thank lawmakers who sponsored key legislation that would strengthen and protect the Social Security program for current and future beneficiaries.