The authors of the study concluded that unless the overall trend stabilizes or is reversed, or high cost-to-claim drugs are addressed, this trend will place an increasing burden on the neurologic Medicare budget. .A study conducted by TSCL has found that Social Security benefits have lost 30 percent of buying power since 2000 over the same period that Medicare Part B premiums grew by 195 percent. Social Security benefits on the other hand have grown by only 43 percent. The findings represent an especially big loss in buying power of 7 percent from January of 2016 to January of 2017. .On Tuesday, the Senate HELP Committee held a bipartisan hearing to discuss the rising costs of prescription drugs. Members of the committee heard from four expert witnesses, including Doctor Paul Howard – Director of Health Policy at the Manhattan Institute – and Doctor Gerard Anderson – Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. .To address this issue, my office put together a two-pronged approach both locally and nationally. First, we held a resources fair in South Los Angeles, focusing on identifying and combatting senior scams with service providers that offered direct assistance for attendees. Second, I introduced a bipartisan resolution to call attention to the barrage of fraud attempts that seniors face nationwide. .On Wednesday, the Board of Trustees – along with Shannon Benton (Executive Director), former Congressman Van Hilleary (Legislative Consultant), and TSCL's staff – spent the day meeting with four Congressional offices. Support was expressed for a number of bills that would strengthen Social Security benefits for older Americans, including the CPI-E Act (H.R. 3961), the CPI for Seniors Act (H.R. 3074), and the Honesty in CPI Reporting Act (H.R. 3500). .It's smart to compare your health insurance options. Your Initial Enrollment period for Medicare begins three months before you attain age 65, the month you turn 65, and ends three months after you attain 6If you decide in favor of starting Medicare as soon as you are eligible, then you would want to shop and compare coverage costs now. .Last October's debt deal contained surprise Social Security changes that will cost some Baby Boomer couples tens of thousands in anticipated Social Security income. While proponents say the changes were necessary to "close filing loopholes," TSCL feels the cuts included people who are too close to retirement. Worse, these changes were struck in a secret, closed-door "must pass" debt deal with no public debate. .Part D — If you choose a Medigap plan, or a Medicare Advantage plan that does not offer drug coverage, you will need a Part D plan. If you take any prescription drugs, be sure to input your medications to get an accurate estimate of costs and to check the coverage of the drugs you take. Coverage of prescription drugs varies from plan to plan and from one year to the next. The average monthly premium for Part D plans weighted for enrollment is Plans often charge a deductible and in 2011 you would need to spend a total of ,550 out-of-pocket (not including premiums) before reaching catastrophic coverage. .There was also a bipartisan proposal from Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) that gained support in the Senate but it did not include price negotiation, and again, McConnell refused to bring the bill to the floor in an election year.