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Complicating matters, even though the Social Security retirement and survivors trust fund still holds IOUs that at least provide the promise to pay benefits, the Social Security disability program is in much more critical condition. The Social Security Trustees recently warned that the SSDI program may run out of IOU "assets" and become fully insolvent as early as 201TSCL believes that estimate is overly optimistic because the Trustees may be assuming there are more payroll taxes than the program is actually taking in. The Trustees assume that unemployment will be only 6.5% over the next few years - but today it's actually far higher - 9.6%. Advisor editor and Social Security policy analyst Mary Johnson estimates that the insolvency date for the Social Security Disability Insurance program could arrive as early as 2013..Low-income seniors, including about one-quarter of all Notch Babies, may be feeling the effects of the expiration of federal stimulus funding for Medicaid that ended recently. The recession drove up Medicaid enrollment sharply, but the federal government stepped in with extra funding to help states cover the costs. Increased enrollment and decreased funding have led states to eliminate some benefits and increase the co-payments they charge..Members of the committee heard from several witnesses at Wednesday's hearing, including Stephen and Rita Shiman, two older Americans from Saco, Maine who were recently victims of the common grandparent scam against seniors. The couple was contacted via phone by a scammer who claimed to be their grandson. The caller told Mr. and Mrs. Shiman he was being held unfairly in a county jail and needed ,230 to be released on bail. They completed the transaction without a second thought and learned they had been scammed later that day, when they called to check in on their actual grandson..The people who are not covered by hold harmless include higher income beneficiaries, beneficiaries who have not started Social Security yet and who pay for Medicare by check, and about 19% of beneficiaries whose incomes are so low that their state Medicaid program pays their Medicare Part B premiums on their behalf..If you or someone you know is struggling to make their Social Security benefits stretch from one month to another, there are two Medicare programs that can help with medical costs for those eligible - Medicare Savings Programs which cover some Part B costs, and Medicare Extra Help which provides help with prescription costs..TSCL supports the "No Social Security for Illegal Immigrants Act" introduced by Representative Dana Rohrabacher which would ban the use of earnings for jobs worked while illegal to be used to determine entitlement..New Co-Sponsors Added to Key Bills.TSCL surveys have found that there is no public support for benefit cuts. On the other hand, 79% support eliminating the taxable maximum cap on earnings so that the highest paid workers pay Social Security taxes on all of their income, not just part of it as they do today..Your decision on when to enroll in Medicare depends on two factors: 1.) your age or disability and, 2.) the size of your husband's employer. You are first eligible to enroll at 65, but if your husband's employer has over 20 full time employees then you would be able to delay enrollment in Medicare while your husband is still working and he continues to have health coverage through his employer. Once the employment or coverage ends you have 8 months to sign up for Part B without penalty during a Special Enrollment Period.