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But the financial impact of immigration reform on Social Security remains in question. As of June 30, 2013, no government estimate of the long-term impact on Social Security has been made public. It is not yet known whether the House bill will contain similar provisions to protect Social Security..American consumers have waited too long for Congress to finally make bipartisan progress on lowering prescription drug costs. At a time of rampant hyper-partisanship on Capitol Hill, I've seen glimmers of hope for how lawmakers from across the political spectrum can unite on this issue. We can't stop pushing for lower prices, because our nation's seniors deserve that level of respect, commitment, and urgency..Recently we asked for your stories and comments on how rising prescription drug costs impact you. The following story illustrates new administrative efforts by Medicare to "educate" beneficiaries about their options for less expensive prescription meds, by sending out letters listing lower cost medications. The question we need to ask our lawmakers is why is this necessary? Does the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services believe we are impoverishing ourselves by using more expensive drugs if a less expensive alternative was effective, to begin with? Unfortunately, sometimes the older, less expensive drugs don't work as well, and with metastatic cancer drugs, quality of life can be at stake. Our sincere thank you to Janice S. a retiree living in Illinois, for sharing the following..The opinions expressed in "Congressional Corner" reflect the views of the writer and are not necessarily those of The Senior Citizens League..Between age 55 and 64, it's as if our body's warranty expires and.Although the bill applies to children, TSCL is concerned that the DREAM Act is a back-door approach to a much wider amnesty that would have an enormous impact on the financial solvency of Social Security and Medicare. Under current policy, immigrants who become U. S. citizens, as young people under the DREAM Act would, may file a petition for green cards to allow their immediate relatives to legally immigrate to the U.S. Relatives who qualify immediately for a visa are spouses, unmarried children under the age of 21, and parents. Once the parents receive the green cards they can legally apply for work authorization, and renew it annually..Though the special deficit committee on deficit reduction failed to reach an agreement last week, it appears that the Super Committee was successful in shaping the discussion for future Medicare savings. "Premium support" refers to a plan in which Medicare would subsidize premiums charged by private insurers that care for beneficiaries under government contract. Experts suggest this plan is gaining support. "This is an idea that could easily resurface in the future as Congress seeks additional Medicare savings for deficit reduction," said Patricia Neuman, senior vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation..Medicare Advantage plan cuts. So far, seniors have not been widely affected by cuts to Medicare Advantage plans, but many of the changes in reimbursements to plans have not yet taken effect. TSCL remains concerned that the reimbursement cuts would cause plans to drop extra benefits like eyeglasses and hearing aids that they now provide. Of greater concern is whether plan payments will be adequate for insurers to maintain their contracts with Medicare to provide services. When Congress cut plan payments too deeply in the past, insurers pulled out of markets all over the United States, leaving millions of seniors scrambling to find another health plan - most often at higher out-of-pocket cost..If adopted, the Audiology Patient Choice Act would improve Medicare coverage for hearing services that are performed by licensed audiologists. According to the bill's sponsors, under current law, Medicare does not recognize audiologists as providers of health-related hearing services, and it will only reimburse audiologists for diagnoses when they are referred by physicians or nurse practitioners. The Audiology Patient Choice Act would ensure access to a full range of hearing services provided by licensed audiologists.