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Currently, 62 percent of Americans ages 65 and older suffer from multiple chronic conditions which require person-centered, coordinated care. Direct Care Workers, such as nursing assistants, home health aides, or personal care aides provide an estimated 70 to 80 percent of the paid, hands-on, long-term care and personal assistance received by older adults in the U.S. DCWs are not, however, often recognized as essential contributors to care teams. Few existing models provide DCWs with the advanced training necessary to take on increased responsibilities..Medicare beneficiaries would still be on the hook for the ,000 that would need to be spent out-of-pocket before the catastrophic coverage even starts. For the average beneficiary, that could take one-third or more of one's entire Social Security income for the year..We share this information with you as a reminder that TSCL does not get any money from the drug makers or any other corporate or major donors. We rely only on you, our supporters, for the funds that allow us to keeping fighting on your behalf to protect the benefits you paid for all of your working life: benefits you earned, you deserve and that you depend on..Daily exercise: According to a growing volume of scientific research, one of the biggest factors in protecting your brain from the effects of aging is the amount of exercise you get every day. Exercise helps reduce insulin resistance, reduce inflammation and stimulates chemicals in the brain that affect not only the health of brain cells but the abundance and survival of new brain cells. It also helps you sleep which can reduce memory problems. You don't have to sign up for gym membership. The standard recommendation often is about one half-hour of exercise daily that gets your heart pumping, or about 150 minutes a week. In addition to walking, riding a stationary bicycle or the treadmill, "exercise" can include things like dancing, gardening, raking leaves, mopping floors vigorously and climbing stairs..If signed into law, the BCRA would create an immediate funding crisis for the Medicare Part A Trust Fund by eliminating a key revenue source and providing the wealthiest Americans with a massive tax cut. Do you support this move, and what efforts would you back to address the Medicare funding crisis?.Most troubling, in October we reported that Medicare Advantage plans have overcharged Medicare by almost billion in recent years. Officials know that some Medicare Advantage plans exaggerate how sick their patients are by inflating the "risk scores" in order to collect higher payments from Medicare, yet the federal government has recovered only a tiny percentage of the overpayments to private insurers in the past..In the months ahead, TSCL will advocate tirelessly for the Social Security Guarantee Act, and we hope to see it signed into law before the end of the 114th Congress. For updates on its progress, visit the Legislative News section of our website, or follow us on Twitter..The first day of each month - when big payments go out for Medicare reimbursements, military salaries, veterans' benefits, pensions for military and civilian federal employees and more - is particularly bad. The third day of each month and Wednesdays, when Social Security benefits go out, aren't great either. Interest payments to Treasury's creditors go out on the 15th and at the end of each month of beginning of the next..TSCL delivered letters to Congress this week urging lawmakers in the House and Senate to become cosponsors of the bill, and to sign it into law before the end of this year. For progress updates on the CPI-E Act, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website or follow TSCL on Twitter.