As we reported then, the study by the National Board of Economic Research, (NBER) explored how "cost-sharing", in other words co-pays and premiums, can affect patient choices and patient health. The researchers examined Medicare data and found that a relatively modest increase in drug costs ( per prescription) lead to a 33% increase in mortality. .How can I get in contact with Medicare? . Contact your doctor's office and alert them to this dilemma. Ask if they have emergency samples of Lantus and your blood pressure medicine that they can provide, or if they can give you the contact number of programs that can help you. .On June 3, 2011, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security held a hearing on the Annual Trustees Report. The Subcommittee heard from the two Public Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare Board: Charles Blahous III and Robert Reischauer. .Action on Capitol Hill slowed down this week as Members of Congress returned to their home states and districts for the week-long holiday recess. Meanwhile, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) announced its support for Medicare fraud prevention legislation, and one key bill gained a new cosponsor. .The committee found that AbbVie inflated prices for the drugs while its executives pocketed growing bonuses. The committee's two-year investigation found that AbbVie "pursued a variety of tactics to increase drug sales while raising prices for Americans, including exploiting the patent system to extend its market monopoly, abusing orphan drug protections to further block competition, and engaging in anticompetitive pricing practices." .Some in Congress are hopeful that the conferees will negotiate a "grand bargain," which would include an overhaul of the tax code and entitlement reform. However, leaders in both chambers have been pushing for the conferees to focus more narrowly on replacing the "sequester" and establishing a fiscal 2014 budget blueprint. Should the conferees fail to reach a consensus, the government could face another shutdown on January 15th, a default on February 7th, and about billion in across-the-board spending cuts at the beginning of the year. .Since 1980, the BLS has manipulated the CPI several times so that it no longer measures price inflation. Rather, it measures an ever-changing "market basket" of goods that is adjusted as prices drop and increase. It assumes that shoppers will purchase chicken when steak becomes too expensive, or apples instead of oranges when their prices drop. This has resulted in a more slowly growing COLA for Social Security beneficiaries. Instead of allowing seniors to keep up with rising costs, today's COLA requires them to constantly adjust to lower standards of living. .The Senior Citizens League and the Alliance for Retired Americans endorse my Seniors' Security Act because they know what I do – that our seniors should be enjoying their golden years, not worrying about how they'll pay their bills and stay in their homes.