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McCaskill is calling on drug companies and doctors to scale back their financial relationships, and believes that, if necessary, Congress should step in to stiffen federal laws banning doctors from receiving gifts from such companies..Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment Ensuring a fair, accurate, and guaranteed COLA..You have a face-to-face meeting with a doctor within 90 days before starting home healthcare, or 30 days after the first day you receive care..Medicare spending in 2013 accounts for 16% of the federal budget. That spending is projected to almost double as a share of the nation's economy in coming years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The House, Senate, and the President's budget plans contain a number of provisions that would cut federal spending on Medicare. But how do senior voters view the proposals?.Fix the flooring. What's underneath the worn-out carpeting? Homes that were built in the 60's often had hardwood floors that were covered by carpeting. But today, hardwood floors are hot with homebuyers who may otherwise run the other way at the sight of dirty out-dated carpet. Get rid of the old carpeting and refinish the hardwood floors. You may need to replace carpeting if plywood subflooring was used instead of hardwood. Unless the flooring in the kitchen and bathrooms is in mint condition, replacing it also tends to pays off..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..When a pharmaceutical industry leader attempted to avoid questions about the pharmaceutical company representative buying alcohol for doctors, McCaskill pressed them for a yes-or-no answer. Ultimately, she admitted there were no rules to prohibit this from taking place, and defended the industry as simply trying to communicate information about prescription medications..Many in Congress talk about the need to "strengthen Social Security," but few offer proposals that would both improve program financing and at the same time improve retirement income. We encourage you to attend town halls this summer and to tell your Members of Congress that Social Security's solvency doesn't require benefit cuts. What Social Security needs is greater tax fairness and requiring all to pay their fair share..Government economists not only changed the math, they changed the underlying concept of the consumer price index itself. While the CPI formerly measured price changes of a fixed market basket of items from one period to the next, today the Bureau of Labor Statistics uses formulas more consistent with a theoretical cost-of-living concept. And because it is theoretical, it uses estimates and produces data that is subject to two revisions.