Eleven new cosponsors signed on to the Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures (PRIME) Act (S. 1123 and H.R. 2305) this week, bringing the total up to twenty in the Senate and thirty in the House. If signed into law, the comprehensive bill would take a number of steps to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse within the two programs – a problem that TSCL believes must be addressed in order to ensure that scarce program dollars are being spent properly. The new cosponsors are: Sen. John Boozman (AR), and Reps. Duncan Hunter (CA-50), Steve Stivers (OH-15), Dan Benishek (MI-1), Martha Roby (AL-2), Dennis Ross (FL-15), Thomas Rooney (FL-17), Shelley Moore Capito (WV-2), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-27), Allyson Schwartz (PA-13), Earl Blumenauer (OR-3), and Edward Royce (CA-39). .On October 22, 2014, TSCL's Executive Director was interviewed on Fox Business about the 2015 COLA announcement. .TSCL feels strongly that Social Security beneficiaries are entitled to transparency and honesty from the federal government, and we believe that Congressman Jones's H.R. 3500 would go a long way in ensuring that. We enthusiastically support the Honesty in CPI Reporting Act, and we look forward to working with Congressman Jones in the coming months to help build support for it. .This week, four new cosponsors signed on to Congressman John Garamendi's (CA-3) bipartisan Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E) Act (H.R. 1251), which would base the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) on a more fair and adequate inflation index if adopted. The new cosponsors are Congressmen Marc Veasey (TX-33), Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (MP), Vincente Gonzalez (TX-15), and Andre Carson (IN-7). The cosponsor total for H.R. 1251 is now up to forty-three. .The bill now moves on to the full Energy and Commerce Committee for a markup, and later it will likely move to the House Ways and Means Committee, where more offsets will be added. Lawmakers in both the House and the Senate hope to repeal and replace the SGR before January 1st – if they fail to act, doctors who treat Medicare patients will see a 25 percent pay cut. TSCL was pleased to see the subcommittee's bill progress this week, and we are hopeful that Members of Congress will pass a permanent solution before the end of this year in order to preserve seniors' access to quality medical care. As the negotiations evolve, we will continue to post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website. .Apply for Medicaid coverage while you wait. Check with a counselor at your local area Agency on Aging or local Medicaid department. Medicaid can take several months to start. .You might be able to avoid doing so. Coronavirus stimulus legislation (CARES Act) that was signed into law in March waives required minimum distributions (RMDs) in 2020 for anyone who owns a 401(k), 403(b), or IRA. Instead of taking money from your retirement accounts this year, retirees can wait, or take less, to give investments time to recover. That's helpful, because most RMDs are based on the value of your retirement accounts on December 31st of the previous year. .Low-income beneficiaries who receive Medicaid in addition to Medicare. State Medicaid programs pay the Part B premiums for people who qualify due to low income and resources. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, there are approximately 10 million dually-eligible beneficiaries representing about two-thirds of those who are not protected by hold harmless. .We gave you the bad news about eating fried foods, which really is nothing very new. But there was some hopeful news last week that we want to pass along.