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Gift certificates for home-heating oil are likely to be among the most appreciated gift you can give this holiday, says The Senior Citizens League. "That's because it will cost many Americans roughly 26 percent more to fill their home-heating fuel tanks this winter than last," says The Senior Citizens League's Social Security policy analyst Mary Johnson. "For people who rely on Social Security benefits, this will be a particularly challenging expense, since Social Security benefits are only increasing 2.8 percent in 2019," she explains..TSCL is especially concerned about how seniors and their families would be informed about the change of health plans. Dual eligible seniors are more likely to have cognitive challenges, and their family caregivers may not understand that a transition to a new health plan is taking place, or how to navigate the changes. TSCL is particularly concerned that seniors may not be able to keep their former doctors and other healthcare providers if those providers don't participate under the new plans. If so, this raises the potential for unintended and uncovered costs, if seniors unwittingly continue to see their former doctor or present the wrong health plan card when visiting providers..Although there's a new higher standard deduction for U.S. taxpayers this year, tax professionals are cautioning taxpayers against automatically taking it. The 2017 tax legislation retains the deduction for medical expenses. This year, taxpayers can deduct medical expenses exceeding 7.5% of their Adjusted Gross Income, but that threshold will rise to 10% of the AGI in 2019, so taxpayers won't be able to deduct as much. It would be a good idea to crunch the numbers now, to learn if itemizing and the medical expense deduction would reduce your taxes..TSCL believes that legislative changes that would switch to the chained CPI and cut COLAs will be a key feature of deficit reduction talks and plans that become public after the November elections. You can help! Sign TSCL's Social Security Fairness Petition online or call to have a petition mailed to you..For more information about town hall meetings near you during the holiday recess, call the local offices of your Members of Congress. For contact information, click HERE..When it comes to the Social Security cost-of-living adjustments many, if not most, of you say that you feel the government is cooking the inflation data. The COLA seldom seems to reflect the growing costs you experience. Two factors are to blame; the choice of a consumer price index used to calculate your COLA, and the methodology that our government uses to calculate price inflation to begin with.."Should Social Security's Cost-of Living Adjustment Be Changed?" National Academy of Social Insurance, April 2011..Cuts to Meals On Wheels Having "Devastating Impact".[ii] Ibid.