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The Senior Citizens League is pleased that lawmakers acted swiftly and responsibly to avert a government shutdown and an unprecedented default on the federal debt. Failing to do so could have resulted in delayed Social Security checks and reimbursements for health care providers who treat Medicare patients. Lawmakers now have until early December to negotiate a broader funding bill to keep the federal government operating. For progress updates, follow TSCL on Facebook or Twitter..Next week on January 24th the Senate Finance Committee will be holding a formal confirmation hearing to question Congressman Price. TSCL will be monitoring discussions about the ACA and the future of the Medicare program, and we will post a summary of the hearing here in the Legislation News section of our website..Members of Congress may lose an election but unlike other Americans, they never lose their retirement and health benefits. A Member of the House or Senate who retires at age 60 after just 12 years in office will receive a Congressional pension of ,000 a year and lifetime benefits that could total more than 0,000.Notch Bulletin: How Long Have Notch Babies Been Underpaid? I was born during the Notch period. I would like to know how long Notch Babies have been underpaid. In addition could you tell me if the underpayment has been corrected and if we are receiving the right amount now? - M.R. Fort Cobb, OK.Investing in an advanced aide role for DWCs will not only lead to less institutionalization and fewer re-hospitalizations, but will improve quality of life for seniors and reduce costs, reducing the overall burden on the health care industry. Seniors deserve to stay in their homes as they age, enjoy a high quality of life, all while receiving high quality, cost-effective care. The Advanced Aide Act will ensure that this is attainable..Meditation and yogNew research has found that mindfulness meditation can actually change the structure of the brain - in a very protective way. Just a couple of weeks of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction training, developed by the University of Massachusetts' Center for Mindfulness, improves concentration and attention since strong focus of attention is one of the central techniques. Meditation training has long been used as a technique for reducing blood pressure, stress and anxiety and also has helped people quit smoking by learning to "decouple" the state of craving from the act of smoking..According to a new analysis from the Congressional Budget Office, in 2015, the weighted average net price for top-selling brand name specialty drugs in Medicare Part D was ,600 for a 30-day supply, almost twice as much as the weighted average net price of ,920 for the same drugs in Medicaid. The big difference is how drug prices are determined..Under current law, the federal government matches state Medicaid spending for everyone whose income is low enough to qualify, which is tied to the federal poverty level of ,060 or ,240. Under current law, as Medicaid spending increases due to rising program costs there are no caps on what the federal government contributes. Under the House and Senate health care bills, the federal government would switch to reimbursing states using a capped amount, regardless of the actual growth in costs in a state. If costs grow faster states would have to make up the difference..There's an overwhelming flood of retirement information targeted to higher -earning upper income Americans, but just about everyone else with more modest incomes are without the guidance to help make the best retirement decision.."It's about time," states Johnson. At the time of passage of the Affordable Care Act, this tax was widely referred to as a "Medicare" tax in the media, by tax and investment professionals, and, many lawmakers sold it to the public that way. "Now those revenues are needed by the Medicare Part A Hospital Insurance Trust Fund," says Johnson. Part A is three years from insolvency and faces an estimated funding gap of more than 5 billion over the next ten years.