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The fraudsters enlist unscrupulous doctors to approve the test and the doctor receives a kick back from the recruiting company for each prescription. Medicare receives a bill that can range from ,000 to ,000. Victims have later reported that they did not even know the doctor who prescribed the test. Law officials warn that health fairs, senior centers and even church events are magnets for the scam, where recruiters take cheek swabs for genetic testing and collect Medicare numbers..Rep. Schwartz's bill, if signed into law, would repeal the sustainable growth rate formula for physician reimbursements, and it would set up a five-year trial period during which CMS would test and evaluate new payment models. TSCL believes that the SGR breeds uncertainty in the Medicare program for both physicians and beneficiaries. Many doctors have stopped accepting Medicare patients because of the SGR, and even more are threatening to do so if a permanent solution is not established soon. We believe Congress should repeal and replace the SGR by the end of this year in order to preserve seniors' access to quality medical care..insurers have hiked premiums so high that policyholders have been forced to drop."But there's still time for Congress to pass legislation to provide an emergency COLA," says Cates. TSCL strongly supports legislation that would provide 70 million Americans with a one-time emergency COLA payment of 3.9%. The Seniors and Veterans Emergency Benefits Act was introduced last fall by Senator Elizabeth Warren, and a companion bill was introduced in the House by Representative Tammy Duckworth..The annual COLA is tied to the rise in inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Inflation has been at record lows in most of the seven years since 2009, averaging just 1.2 percent. In the decade prior to 2009, COLAs averaged more than 3 percent. And although low inflation can be helpful to younger wage earners and workers, "it's not always a boon for people receiving Social Security benefits," says Ed Cates, Chairman of TSCL..Select a daily benefit amount. You can select an amount like.In contrast, the Social Security benefits of American workers, are not guaranteed by law. In the Supreme Court decision, Fleming vs. Nestor, the court found that Congress can make adjustments when conditions of the Social Security systems demand and that American workers who have paid their employment taxes have no legal recourse to any of the money deposited in the Social Security Trust Fund..Unfortunately, it is not as cut-and-dried as "everyone will now pay per month for their insulin." It is much more complicated than that..As the law is phased in over the coming months and years, TSCL will monitor it closely, and our legislative team will advocate against the implementation of the provisions that will increase costs for beneficiaries. For updates on its movement, visit our website at SeniorsLeague.org or our new Facebook page at Facebook.com/SeniorsLeague.