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First, one new cosponsor Representative Steve Cohen signed on to the Creating Access to Rehabilitation for Every Senior Act, bringing the total up to five. If adopted, this bipartisan bill would improve access to affordable long-term care by eliminating the three-day prior hospitalization requirement that currently limits Medicare's coverage of patient stays in skilled nursing facilities.."The Senior Citizens League Fears New Immigration Policy Eases Way To Social Security for Some".With people living longer, retiring too early means potentially leaving tens of thousands in retirement income behind. Who can afford to do that? If you haven't started benefits yet, beware of the anchor effect, and remember that age 70 is the age to get your maximum retirement benefit. Individual circumstances vary though. It's a good idea to get professional help if you can, to take your time to learn about your benefits, and to decide the best age for you to start benefits. This is an important decision. It pays to take your time. To learn more about the "anchor effect," read "What Was I Thinking?".But we all must face the reality that unless we continue the safety measures of masks and handwashing, this will get worse..For example, if you and your spouse were over the age of 65 in 2016 and had an AGI of ,000, you could deduct the amount of allowable medical expenses over ,750, which is 7.5% of ,000. If your total medical expenses were ,000 you could deduct ,250.As with Social Security and Medicare long-term viability, reducing the high costs of drugs is also at the top on TSCL's agenda this year. These are complicated problems but Congress must find a way to deal with them and TSCL will be fighting for you as these debates continue..If the Social Security COLA were based on a more accurate measure of inflation for senior citizens, next year's increase would not be 0.3 percent it would be 2.1 percent according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Do you support legislation that would base the COLA on a more accurate inflation index like the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly?.The 2010 health law, which was vague on many other details, specifically states that enrollees can receive subsidies when purchasing health insurance on an exchange "established by the state." Some 34 states, however, don't operate their own insurance exchanges, and uninsured people living in those states must go through the federal online exchange, in order to receive subsidized coverage..About 44 percent of TSCL Senior Survey respondents last year said that their Social Security benefit was lower in 2011 after deduction for Medicare premium payments. Another TSCL survey found that 44 percent of respondents also said they spent at least 0 a month on Medicare premiums and other out-of-pocket costs in 201"With the average benefit at ,100, about 17 million seniors are spending one-third of their Social Security benefit on Medicare costs, " Hyland observes.