Example: Let's say Sally had a Social Security benefit of ,000 in 201The Part B premium that year was 4.90. In 2016 there was no COLA, and Sally continued to receive ,000. But the Medicare Part B premium in 2016 increased to 1.80 per month. Sally's Part B premium was adjusted downward and she continued to pay the same 4.90 Medicare Part B premium that she paid the previous year, to prevent a reduction in her Social Security benefits in 2016. .If these cuts ever went into effect, it could mean tens of millions of seniors no longer have access to their doctors and essential healthcare services. This is unacceptable. For too long, Congress has failed to seriously tackle the issue of physician payment reform, and instead has kicked the can down the road with short-term fixes that have now created a long-term fiscal nightmare. This has been the absolute wrong approach for American seniors and our federal budget. And that is why I have been working hard to protect seniors' access to their doctors by putting forth a plan to fix this broken system once and for all. .Early Wednesday morning, after weeks of negotiations, leaders in Congress unveiled the text of their .1 trillion omnibus spending bill. If adopted by both chambers and signed into law by President Obama, the omnibus will fund the federal government through September 30, 2016. .Members of Congress remained in their home states and districts this week for Tuesday's mid-term elections. They are expected to return to Capitol Hill to begin the "lame duck" session on Wednesday, November 12th, following the Veterans Day holiday. .In particular, the expert witnesses at last week's hearing focused on isolation from the community, Medicare penalties for late enrollment, and a lack of funding for State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs), which help older Americans navigate Medicare enrollment. .My mother has suffered a stroke and needs to move to an assisted living facilty. She is having problems qualifying for Medicaid. Her only asset is her small apartment that we are trying to sell, but it could take months in this market. Most of the nursing facilities require ,000 and more per month. Is there anything I can do to help her qualify sooner? .This week, lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill following a two-week spring recess and quickly began working on legislation to fund the federal government past Friday, April 28th. At the time of writing this week's update, a continuing resolution (CR) had not yet been adopted by either chamber, but votes are expected by Friday evening. .More Funding Sought for Home Health Care .In a statement that was released on Thursday, Mary Johnson – Policy Analyst for The Senior Citizens League – said: "The bottom line is that Medicare Part B premiums rise several times faster than COLAs, and those premiums are now high enough to cause the net Social Security benefits of millions of people to remain flat for years at a time … This would make the fourth year in a row that this particular group has not seen a boost in their net Social Security benefits."