In a separate report, the CDC responded to concerns about deaths being misattributed to Coved-1The agency took a close look at death certificates, finding that most that listed Covid-19 also named other contributing problems. They included conditions such as diabetes, known to increase the danger of severe disease, or conditions such as pneumonia that occurred in the chain of events leading to the deaths..With 1.2 million supporters, The Senior Citizens League is one of the nation's largest nonpartisan seniors groups. Located just outside Washington, D.C., its mission is to promote and assist members and supporters, to educate and alert senior citizens about their rights and freedoms as U.S. Citizens, and to protect and defend the benefits senior citizens have earned and paid for. The Senior Citizens League is a proud affiliate of The Retired Enlisted Association. Please visit or call for more information..The "Notch" refers to a disparity in benefits that resulted when Congress changed the Social Security benefit formula in 197The changes affected seniors who became entitled to Social Security just two years later. The group born from 1917 through 1926 are known as "Notch Babies" because they receive lower Social Security benefits than other individuals with similar earnings histories..TSCL is fighting the plan to chain down COLAs. Indeed, seniors need a COLA that more adequately protects the buying power of Social Security, and TSCL supports H.R. 776, the Guaranteed 3% COLA Act, introduced by Representative Eliot Engel..Support for the legislation has grown significantly, nearly doubling over the previous six Congressional sessions in which it's been introduced. TSCL is encouraging seniors and their younger family members to contact their Members of Congress and urge them to co-sponsor "The Notch Fairness Act, " H.R. 1001 and S. 118..By Mike Watson, TSCL Legislative Assistant.One witness, Scott Serota, President and CEO of the BlueCross BlueShield Association, suggested a gradual shift from the current fee-for-service system toward a series of new payment models that would allow for geographic variability. Another witness, David Bronson, President of the American College of Physicians, suggested a patient-centered medical home model, where each patient would choose a physician with a specific team of caregivers. He explained that his model would result in better coordinated care for seniors..Year after year, physicians who treat Medicare patients are threatened with scheduled pay cuts that Members of Congress consistently override. While doctors, patients, and lawmakers have grown accustomed to the "doc fix," the ritual has grown unpleasant for all involved. Doctors are fed up with the looming pay cuts, patients are losing access to their trusted physicians, and lawmakers are tired of the political sparring that occurs each time a pay patch is needed.."The side effects of the drug, to be sold as Aduhelm by maker Biogen, are troubling and the cost is staggering, at ,000 per year 'forever,' doctors told STAT. More than one-third of trial participants developed brain swelling and 17% to 19% had small bleeds in their brains."
