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Members of the House spent the week in their home districts, and are expected to return to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, May 30. Members of the Senate will recess next week for the Memorial Day holiday and will return on Monday, June 4..Prices charged for the category of drugs known as "specialty medications" are exploding so quickly that they're now a key source of concern for both consumers and Congress. Specialty drugs include those used to treat cancer, multiple sclerosis and rare health conditions. Spending on these drugs under Medicare almost quadrupled in recent years, rising from .7 billion in 2010 to .8 billion in 201On the other hand, spending on the same drugs under Medicaid, the program that provides healthcare for low-income Americans, grew much more slowly over the same period, rising from .8 billion to .9 billion..If signed into law, the Improving Care for Vulnerable Older Citizens through Workforce Advancement Act would create six different demonstration projects that focus on the coordination of care and the delivery of medical services to elderly patients with chronic illnesses. The projects would design and test new models of care coordination, and direct-care workers would be granted opportunities to advance their careers through additional training, increased compensation, and expanded roles..Costs not covered by Medicare such as dental, vision and audio care..Is it safe to shop for senior housing or to refinance a mortgage for overdue renovations of an older home, or should we focus of paying off the mortgage of an existing home? I'm still working and I'll turn 62 this year..Keep up with the latest. Follow TSCL on Twitter and Facebook..Learn if there's an older, less expensive drug that you can try first. If you have a copy of your drug plan's formulary you may want to take that with you to the doctor's office to assist with checking an alternate medication, and what you will pay out-of-pocket..The chances are high that the next president of the United States will sign into law legislation that reforms the Social Security program and extends the solvency of the trust fund beyond 2034, its projected year of exhaustion. For years leaders in Washington have been authoring sweeping plans that would enact major benefit cuts like reduced cost-of-living adjustments or increased eligibility ages in order to strengthen the financing of the program. But the unpopularity of those plans with voters ensured those plans never went anywhere..However, it's not clear whether employers are going to pass the savings on to employees. Since the taxes would be deferred, not waived, several experts question whether firms would actually pass the money along to their workers, because it is the businesses that are on the hook for the taxes.