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COLAs are calculated using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners. This simply does not make sense for seniors. This method of calculation considers spending habits of younger workers who are more likely to spend their dollars on electronic devices and consumer goods. Seniors are more likely to spend money on medical services and housing expenses. The prices of these items rise significantly higher than what the CPI-W calculates..Based on consumer price index data through May of this year, TSCL's Social Security policy analyst and study author, Mary Johnson, estimates that the COLA for 2018 may indeed be significantly higher than in recent years - around 1.9% - 2.1% - but that could change since there are still several months to go before the COLA is announced in October..I realize that tonight when I go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the living room where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers..The program was designed to address the needs of low–income seniors, who receive both Medicare and Medicaid. The group includes the oldest, sickest and poorest of seniors, including many Notch Babies, who tend to have multiple health problems, including the need for long term care. Although they make up only 15 percent of all Medicaid beneficiaries, they account for almost 40 percent of Medicaid expenditures, according to the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured..Social Security's combined Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance Trust Funds will be fully funded until 2035 one year later than was projected in last year's report. At that point, if nothing is done by Congress, Social Security would still have the funds to pay out 80 percent of scheduled benefits using tax revenues alone. The Trustees also estimated that Medicare's Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will be fully funded until 2026, at which point the program would still be able to pay out almost 90 percent of scheduled benefits using tax revenues..Congressional aides have said that the conference co-chairs, Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Paul Ryan, are "talking almost every day," but a partisan divide over potential "sequester" offsets seems to have halted progress. Half of the conferees hope to replace a portion of the "sequester" with revenue increases, while the other half would like to enact cuts to mandatory programs, including Social Security and Medicare. At this point, conferees on both sides are remaining steadfast in their positions..Almost all of my income is from Social Security. I have some limited savings, and I own my home. I'm having trouble affording my Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket costs, but I don't think I qualify for Medicaid. Are there any programs that may help?.Medicaid Changes Raising TSCL Concerns For Low-Income Seniors.I've been out of work since late March. The company that I was working for is in the process of declaring bankruptcy, and I haven't found a new job yet. I turn 64 in two months, but if I start Social Security now my retirement benefit would be pretty low.