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Once again this week the impeachment of President Trump dominated the news involving Congress and Washington in general. Even so, work continued on a host of other issues, many of which are of great importance to seniors..At the Social Security Subcommittee's hearing, the focus was also on three specific proposals: cutting the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment by adopting the "chained" Consumer Price Index, raising the eligibility age, and increasing the cap on income subject to the payroll tax. Support for each proposal was mixed, and while experts on the panel spoke with a sense of urgency, no real consensus was evident among Members of the Subcommittee..Some 13% of the people who receive both Medicare and Medicaid are 85 and older. The youngest Notch Babies turned 85 last year, while the oldest turned 9With over four million Notch Babies and their widows, TSCL believes that roughly one-quarter of Notch Babies receive both Medicaid, as well as Medicare..What Happens If The Supreme Court Rules Against Obamacare?.TSCL is calling on Congressional leaders to make them aware of the situation and to propose a 2.5% Emergency COLA..Senate Committee Questions HHS Nominee.In 2012, the GPO reduced by two-thirds the Social Security benefits received by nearly 600,000 surviving spouses who also collect a government pension. Nine out of 10 public employees affected by the GPO lose their entire spousal benefit, even though their spouse paid Social Security taxes for many years..Social Security benefits have lost 33 percent of buying power since 2000, according to the latest Social Security Loss of Buying Power Study released today by The Senior Citizens League. "One would think that a higher cost-of-living adjustment in 2019, combined with relatively low inflation, would lead to an improvement of buying power in Social Security benefits," says study author Mary Johnson, a Social Security policy analyst for the League. "But any improvement was offset by spiking costs of essentials, including out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs," Johnson says..Will current beneficiaries and those close to retirement - people age 55 and older - be protected from benefit cuts?

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The Social Security OIG report concluded, "Having an SSN on the MBR - regardless of the date of entitlement - improves the Social Security Administration's ability to prevent improper payments," and recommended that the agency take additional steps to ensure the oldest auxiliary beneficiaries without an SSN are still alive. Yet the Social Security Administration disagreed, saying that the Agency "believed current policies and safeguards were appropriate to meet program needs.".This order is not only vehemently opposed by the pharmaceutical industry but also by many conservative groups that have otherwise been supportive of Trump during his time in office..Once lawmakers return from next week's holiday break, they will have just a few days to pass a continuing resolution to keep most of the federal government operating past December 7th. Should they fail to reach an agreement before then, part of the federal government will shut down like it did earlier this year. The Senior Citizens League is hopeful that lawmakers will act responsibly to keep the federal government fully funded so that essential programs like Social Security and Medicare can operate as smoothly as possible. … Continued

New Dietary Guidelines For Kids Under Two

Increase the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment to reflect the inflation experienced by retirees..If enacted, this bill would address one of the key areas currently missing from our prescription drug market - competition. Just as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is already able to negotiate lower drug prices for its patients, Medicare should be given the freedom to do the same..Efforts are quietly underway to lay the groundwork for a far-reaching fiscal deal that involves Social Security cost-of-living adjustments and Medicare benefits. White House officials and Senate Republicans have met in a series of private sessions in recent months. In his fiscal year 2014 budget, President Obama proposed reducing the growth in COLAs as well as raising Medicare premiums, reducing benefits of higher income seniors and increasing the Medicare eligibility age. Everything is still on the table, the pressure point being the debt limit. The government is expected to hit the debt limit ceiling the statutory borrowing limit - sometime this fall. … Continued