Gold standard. Companies acquire drugs considered the best available for the condition they treat, ensuring that physicians would continue to prescribe it even if the price increased.."The government now finds itself trying to figure out how to satisfy patients who desperately need help, even though scientists think this particular treatment lacks strong evidence for its effectiveness and policy experts warn it is setting up a budgetary nightmare for Medicare in the future.".Physical, occupational and speech therapy services for some patients, especially those who have long-term severe illnesses, are the services that have been impacted the most. Under a new Medicare reimbursement system, home health agencies now have a stronger financial incentive to treat patients who need short-term therapy after a stay in the hospital or rehabilitation facility. Payments under the new reimbursement system are higher for people who are discharged from an institution and have services provided within the first 30 days - and get lower after that..On Wednesday, TSCL's Board of Trustees, along with former Congressman David Funderburk and Mrs. Betty Funderburk, and legislative analyst Jessie Gibbons, held meetings on Capitol Hill in seven Congressional offices. TSCL's dedicated, all-volunteer Board of Trustees consists of the following members: chairman Larry Hyland, vice-chairman Tom O'Connell, secretary Charlie Flowers, treasurer Ed Cates, political action committee treasurer Michael Gales, and board liaison and president of The Retired Enlisted Association Arthur Cooper..This week, one new cosponsor Rep. Timothy Bishop signed on to Rep. Peter DeFazio's Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act. The cosponsor total for the bill is now up to thirty..TSCL enthusiastically supports the No Social Security for Illegal Immigrants Act, and in a survey that we conducted in January of 2016, nearly 90 percent of our members and supporters agreed that such payments should be prohibited. We commend Rep. Rohrabacher for introducing legislation that would protect the integrity of the Social Security program while preventing an unnecessary and unspecified strain on the Trust Fund. We look forward to working with him in the coming months to help build support for his critical new bill..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..To learn more and to participate in TSCL surveys and polls, visit..Finally, the Protecting and Preserving Social Security Act gained one new cosponsor in Senator Claire McCaskill, who brings the new cosponsor total to three. If signed into law, S. 1600 would base the Social Security COLA on the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly. The bill would also ensure that high income earners pay their fair share of taxes into Social Security.
