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One new cosponsor also signed on to Rep. Allyson Schwartz's Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act this week, bringing the total up to thirty-one. The new cosponsor is Rep. Tom Latham. If signed into law, Rep. Schwartz's bill would repeal and replace the faulty formula that is used to determine reimbursements for doctors who treat Medicare patients. The current formula breeds uncertainty within the program, and H.R. 574 would establish much-needed stability..If she delays until age 70, she'll receive ,226 more because of the Social Security delayed retirement credit. Her starting benefit will be ,980, she will receive 0,891 over her retirement, and her final monthly benefit would be ,417..Selling a home to move to lower-cost housing, or as part of a move to assisted living, involves plenty of cleaning, repairs, and maybe some renovations. To get the most money, and to recover your repair and renovation investment, focus on improvements that are either necessary to sell your home, or those that will help get you a higher price. While every home is different, here are six home improvements that tend to get the best return:.This week, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle spoke favorably about Tavenner on the Senate floor. Sen. Orrin Hatch, the Ranking Member on the Finance Committee, urged his colleagues to vote for her, stating: "She's dedicated. She has the ability, and I believe that she will do a great job." In addition, Sen. Tim Kaine, who served as Tavenner's boss as the former Governor of Virginia, spoke highly of her cost-cutting skills. He said, "There was no one in my cabinet that was more creative and passionate about achieving savings without sacrificing patient care."."Extra Help Basics," Medicare Interactive, The Medicare Rights Center, accessed on June 19, 2018..TSCL enthusiastically supports H.R. 3118 and H.R. 1179, and we were pleased to see support grow for both of them this week..One way to strengthen Social Security is to do what's known as "scrapping the cap." Americans only contribute to Social Security on the first 7,200 in income earned every year. That makes no sense. Why should the very wealthiest get a tax break, when nurses, electricians, and grocery store clerks pay into the system on 100 percent of their earnings? Closing this loophole would extend the program for at least another generation..The Senior Citizens League agrees that these faults in the program are unacceptable and unsustainable. With over ten thousand Baby Boomers becoming eligible for Social Security benefits every day, Congress must act to ensure that SSA is fully funded and equipped with the leadership that is needed to serve our older and disabled Americans. As Ranking Member John Larson said at Wednesday's hearing, "What is Social Security if not the full faith and credit of the United States government?"."TSCL believes voters need to understand that one of the most likely actions that Congress may take is to 'borrow' or otherwise reallocate payroll taxes originally destined for retirement benefits, to cover disability benefits instead," Cates notes. Congress has taken such action six times in the past to delay exhaustion of the DI trust fund.[ii] Doing so would give Congress more time to fix the system, but the move would worsen retirement program financing more quickly. If implemented, the Social Security Chief Actuary estimates that the retirement fund would only have enough revenues to cover 75% of costs by depletion, at which time retirees would face benefit cuts of 25%. "This raises an important question," Cates notes. "Would today's retirees go for a bailout of the disability system using money that's supposed to be for their own retirement benefits?" Cates asks.