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  • Medicare Premiums

    Two cosponsors – Rep. Doris Matsui (CA-5) and Sen. Dean Heller (NV) – signed on to the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 1332, S. 2010) this week, bringing the totals up to 166 in the House and 13 in the Senate. .The Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Adam Smith (D-Wash.) has announced that if the bill is vetoed the House will come back into session over the holidays and vote to override. .Big Effort to Lower Drug Prices Once Again in Congress … Continued

  • Democrats Seek To Pass Healthcare Changes Later This Year

    " ‘If it comes to getting my family members vaccinated, and all that's available is J&J or Novavax, I'd tell them to take it,' said Robert Hancock, president of the Texas College of Emergency Physicians." .At Wednesday's hearing, many lawmakers seemed to agree that Congress should begin working seriously towards a long-term plan, but it was clear that there is no consensus on what that plan should look like. One member of the committee, Senator Bob Corker (TN), said he would support a plan similar to the Simpson-Bowles proposal of 2010 that would increase Social Security's age of eligibility and adopt the "chained" CPI, among other things. .Key Bills Gain New Cosponsors … Continued

The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, a federal agency known as BARDA, is giving Moderna up to 3 million for late-stage development of its vaccine. .This week, lawmakers on the House Budget Committee approved a fiscal 2017 budget resolution after weeks of negotiations, and The Senior Citizens League's (TSCL's) Board of Trustees met with several Members of Congress on Capitol Hill to discuss critical Social Security issues. .This week, one new cosponsor – Rep. David Loebsack (IA-2) – signed on to the Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures (PRIME) Act (H.R. 2305). The total is now up to sixty-two. If signed into law, the PRIME Act would take a number of steps to comprehensively prevent fraud, waste, and abuse within the two programs – a problem that TSCL believes must be addressed in order to ensure that scarce program dollars are being spent properly. .TSCL has filed three lawsuits under the Freedom of Information Act requesting copies of the agreement and other information and has placed ads in The Washington Times in opposition to the proposed agreement. We will continue to closely monitor the totalization matter. .Contributing: Nathan Bomey and Robert Powell ."It is not possible or believable that the infection control surveys accurately portray the extent of infection control deficiencies in U.S. nursing facilities," the report states. .If signed into law, H.R. 973 would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) – two federal provisions that unfairly reduce or eliminate the earned Social Security benefits of millions of teachers, firefighters, peace officers, and other state or local government employees each year. .This week, four new cosponsors signed on to Congressman John Garamendi's (CA-3) bipartisan Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E) Act (H.R. 1251), which would base the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) on a more fair and adequate inflation index if adopted. The new cosponsors are Congressmen Marc Veasey (TX-33), Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (MP), Vincente Gonzalez (TX-15), and Andre Carson (IN-7). The cosponsor total for H.R. 1251 is now up to forty-three. .Before the New Year even started, TSCL had been working to convince Members of our new Congress of the immediate need to replace 2021's meager 1.3% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) with a 3% emergency inflation adjustment. We strongly support "The 3% Emergency COLA Act," introduced by Representatives Peter DeFazio (OR-4) and John Larson (CT-1) and efforts to include provisions of this bill in emergency stimulus funding legislation.