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Call your Member of Congress at..Separately, the House Ways and Means Committee Means Committee approved the largest expansion of Medicare since the addition of drug benefits two decades ago..partnership programs available in several states..Remember "Flo"? In 1999 she was the blond, perky, mature lady who came onto our TV screens telling us that she was here "to tell seniors about changes that affect our medicines." She would end by saying "I don't want big government in my medicine cabinet." Flo implied that, if Medicare provided a drug benefit for seniors, it would stifle research and development of new life-saving drugs coming to market and restrict access to drugs a patient was already taking..This week, lawmakers in the House passed legislation that would fund the Department of Homeland Security through September and address President Obama's recent immigration orders. In addition, The Senior Citizens League announced its support for two new pieces of legislation..Representatives Donna E. Shalala, Phil Roe, M.D., Ann McLane Kuster, and Larry Bucshon M.D. have introduced legislation to eliminate out-of-pocket costs for vaccines to everyone under Medicare. Currently, Medicare vaccine coverage is split between Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D. Seniors can access vaccines covered under Part B - such as flu, pneumonia and Hepatitis - with no out-of-pocket costs. However, under Part D, vaccines such as shingles and pertussis often include a cost to beneficiaries..COLAs are calculated using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners. This simply does not make sense for seniors. This method of calculation considers spending habits of younger workers who are more likely to spend their dollars on electronic devices and consumer goods. Seniors are more likely to spend money on medical services and housing expenses. The prices of these items rise significantly higher than what the CPI-W calculates..In the coming weeks, budget discussions will continue on Capitol Hill as committees in the House and Senate form proposals of their own. TSCL is hopeful that leaders in both chambers will consider measures that would improve the pharmaceutical industry and ensure access to more affordable prescription drugs for Part D enrollees. We will monitor the budget debate closely in the weeks ahead, and we will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website..Calling it an "economic imperative," President Obama continues to call for comprehensive immigration reform that would provide a path to legal status for illegal immigrants. A day after the President outlined his plan in a speech on the border with Mexico, immigration reform legislation known as the "DREAM Act" was reintroduced in the Senate.