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Inadequate COLAs have long-term consequences for both retiree finances and health. COLAs affect the amount of total lifetime Social Security income, and that in turn affects the rate of withdrawals from retirement accounts and savings, debt levels. Adequate income in retirement also determines whether individuals have the finances to pay for supplemental Medicare health premiums, out-of-pocket costs and prescription drugs..Would a Higher Cost-of-Living-Adjustment in Social Security Make Me Ineligible for Medicaid?.Under current law, the federal government matches state Medicaid spending for everyone whose income is low enough to qualify, which is tied to the federal poverty level of ,060 or ,240. Under current law, as Medicaid spending increases due to rising program costs there are no caps on what the federal government contributes. Under the House and Senate health care bills, the federal government would switch to reimbursing states using a capped amount, regardless of the actual growth in costs in a state. If costs grow faster states would have to make up the difference..Even though the rate of inflation is dropping, a proposal that would switch to a more slowly-growing CPI to calculate COLA continues to be pushed by proponents on both sides. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the "chained" CPI would reduce the federal budget deficit by more than 0 billion in the first ten years. It would do so by cutting the growth in a host of federal benefit programs, including military retirement in addition to Social Security, as well as increasing revenues if used to index the tax code..According to the Social Security Administration, beneficiaries will receive a 1.7% COLA starting in January of next year. The low COLA comes close on the heels of two years when no COLA was paid, in 2010 and 201The COLA in 2012 was 3.6%. "The anemic growth in benefits will cause tens of millions of seniors to spend a bigger portion of their monthly Social Security payment on healthcare and other costs next year," says TSCL Chairman Larry Hyland..or the amount Medicare pays for the service. Do this before I have to nag you,.TSCL opposes such plans since evidence shows they would result in higher out-of-pocket costs for most older Americans, and we will advocate against them as the administration attempts to build support. To stay updated on the latest Medicare reform news from Washington, visit the Legislative News section of our website..This is hard. Dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and the drastic changes it has brought to all our lives is hard. But for seniors, the group most vulnerable to severe, and even fatal cases of the disease, it is very hard..a modest boost in benefits,