Dining On A Social Security Budget.New Congress Convenes.This week, lawmakers returned to their home states and districts for a two-week spring recess. They are expected to return to Capitol Hill on Monday, April 2In the meantime, many Members of Congress will be hosting town hall meetings, which The Senior Citizens League encourages its supporters to attend..Rep. Bill Huizinga pledged his support for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher's No Social Security for Illegal Immigrants Act last week. If passed, the bill would prevent illegal immigrants from receiving earned credit toward Social Security benefits. With the new co-sponsor, the total is now 69..After Surgery What Can I Do About Unexpected Bills?.According to STATnews, "Amid intensifying anger over the rising cost of medicines, a key piece of data has been missing from the debate - the actual prices after accounting for rebates and discounts offered by drug makers to payers. Now, a new analysis has come up with some numbers and the results are illuminating: Over a recent 11-year period, net prices for hundreds of drugs rose 60%, which was 3.5 times the inflation rate..According to the Senior Citizens League, recipients of Social Security have seen a 30 percent decrease in their buying power since 2000. Additionally, seniors who are enrolled in Medicare Part B programs or own homes have faced particularly large cost increases. This is because COLAs have not kept up with the increase in seniors' expenses and it is simply unacceptable. This needs to change..Because of age-related changes in their immune systems, people 65 years and older may not respond as well to vaccination as younger people. Although immune responses may be lower in older people, studies have consistently found that flu vaccine has been effective in reducing the risk of medical visits and hospitalizations associated with flu..Members of Congress reached a last-minute deal to avert the Fiscal Cliff on Tuesday, temporarily preventing a combination of tax increases and automatic spending cuts from going into effect. In addition, Thursday, January 3rd marked the first day of the 113th Congress.
