Drug spending nationally increased by 76% between 2000 and 2017, and the costs are expected to increase faster than other areas of healthcare over the next decade as new, expensive specialty drugs are approved, according to the researchers. ."While there's nothing unlawful per se about rushing to enact policy in the final days of a presidential administration (indeed, it's a time-honored tradition), executive branch officials may not circumvent clear legal requirements in the eleventh hour to achieve goals they couldn't accomplish in the normal course," he said. .To help you sort things out, TSCL strongly recommends that you get free one-on-one Medicare counseling through your state health insurance assistance program (SHIP). Many of the programs operate through area agencies on aging, local departments of senior services or senior centers. You can also get more information online at www.Medicare.gov or call 1-800-Medicare ( 7). .Lower prescription drug prices is one of our top priorities and we will continue to fight for them as long as it takes, and for whatever actions it takes to reduce them. .(For more details see our "FAHow ‘Undocumented' Workers Are Becoming Entitled To Social Security.") Of particular importance is an exception that applies to immigrants receiving benefits living in a country with which the U.S. has a totalization agreement. It appears that under the U.S./Mexico Totalization Agreement, all that any illegal Mexican worker must do to qualify for benefits is return to Mexico. Once a claim has been filed, the U.S. Social Security system counts all earnings, even for jobs worked without legal authorization, to determine entitlement to benefits. TSCL is particularly wary of how the 2012 presidential election may affect the status of the agreement. And, even if voters send a new president to the White House, the agreement will continue to remain pending even if no action is taken by President Obama, for the next President's consideration. .That is why TSCL is fighting so hard for legislation to reduce drug prices and for increased COLAs that reflect the true cost of living for our nation's seniors. .With that in mind we remind you that the Federal Trade Commission has warned that anybody offering a chance to jump ahead on the statewide priority list for a vaccination in exchange for money is a scammer. .But critics say the failure to make in-person checks prevented states from identifying lapses at a crucial time. The fact that family members were blocked from visiting their relatives — a policy intended to prevent the virus from entering the facility — removed another source of accountability in homes, some of which ended up having more than half of their residents stricken with the coronavirus. .On Tuesday, the federal government shut down for the first time in seventeen years due to a legislative impasse between leaders in the House and Senate. Four days in, neither side has wavered much from its position. Leaders in the Senate are pressuring the House to pass a "clean" temporary funding measure, while leaders in the House continue to demand provisions that would delay or defund the Affordable Care Act.