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The Senior Citizens League believes that these CMS initiatives to fight Medicare fraud, waste, and abuse are encouraging steps toward containing and even preventing escalating costs and premiums. However, more steps like Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen's TSCL-supported Medicare Fraud Prevention Fraud Enforcement and Prevention Act should be taken. If passed, this bill would create a pilot program using biometric technology to ensure that all Medicare claims are legitimate. It would also facilitate real-time information sharing between law enforcement agencies, and it would increase the penalties for those convicted of Medicare fraud. While wasteful and fraudulent activities aren't the only issues of Medicare reform, TSCL believes that strict oversight from lawmakers, administrators, and seniors alike is a proper first step..Guide dogs or other service animals to assist a blind or physically disabled person..On Wednesday, with a vote of 21-3, the Senate Finance Committee voted in favor of advancing the nomination of Sylvia Mathews Burwell as the next Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. If confirmed as Secretary, Burwell will oversee the Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security programs, and she will also manage the continued implementation of the Affordable Care Act..TSCL supports the Social Security 2100 Act enthusiastically since it would reform the program responsibly, without any cuts for beneficiaries. Our legislative team will continue to advocate for it in the months ahead, and we hope to see it signed into law before the end of the 114th Congress. For updates on the progress of the Social Security 2100 Act, visit our Legislative News updates regularly or follow us on Facebook or Twitter..Two Key Bills Gain Support."In the U.S. arm of the clinical trial, J&J's vaccine was 72% effective, which, in the absence of the mRNA data, 'one would have said this was an absolutely spectacular result,' Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at a separate White House briefing. What is more, the immunization was 85% effective at preventing severe disease and, in the trial, all hospitalizations and deaths occurred among people who got the placebo. None of the vaccinated people diagnosed with Covid-19 got sick enough to need hospital care..Another critical feature of the plan is the redundancy of the supply chain, such as the existence of multiple manufacturers for each product and its precursors.The good news is that while Covid-19 continues to kill close to 1,000 Americans a day, advances in medical care and the growing experience of doctors are improving the chances of survival for those who develop dangerous cases of the infection, according to a report in Bloomberg News..This week, The Senior Citizens League was pleased to see support grow for four key bills in the House and Senate.