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The survey found that rather than keep the Social Security status quo, 71% of respondents prefer the following package of changes:.A family relative helps care for my son and keeps my Mom company during the day. She is paid minimum wage through a state Medicaid family caregiver program for which my son is eligible. This program is keeping both my son, and Mom out of the nursing home, and allowing me to earn a modest income just to put toward our bills.."At the same time Social Security payroll taxes have taken a huge hit due to tens of millions of people out of work, claims for Social Security will grow faster in 2020 than anticipated, as older adults lose their jobs," says Johnson. Before the start of the coronavirus recession, many older workers may have delayed claiming Social Security to allow their benefits to grow. "But those who lose their jobs may have to go ahead and claim Social Security benefits now because they can't afford to wait - especially if their retirement accounts have gone down significantly in value as well," Johnson says..Those participating in The Senior Citizens League's annual senior survey, which is still being conducted, confirm that monthly household expenses made steep increases over the past year, far in excess of the dollar amount that their COLAs increased benefits. The 2.8 percent COLA raised the average Social Security benefit of ,400 by about per month this year. Yet more than 78 percent of survey participants report that their household spending rose by more than .00 per month in 201"When costs climb more rapidly than benefits, retirees must spend down retirement savings more quickly than expected, and those without savings or other retirement income are either going into debt, or going without," Johnson says..First, the Social Security 2100 Act gained one new cosponsor in Representative Diana DeGette, bringing the cosponsor total to 17If signed into law, H.R. 1902 would strengthen Social Security benefits by make cost-of-living adjustments more adequate, increasing monthly benefits by 2%, creating a new Special Minimum Benefit equal to 125% of the poverty line, providing a tax cut to Social Security beneficiaries, applying the payroll tax to annual income over 0,000, and gradually increasing the payroll tax rate by 0.25%.."Sudden Price Spikes in Decades-Old Prescription Drugs," Testimony of Berna Heyman to the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, April 27, 201"High-Price Drugs Are Increasing Federal Payments For Medicare Part D Catastrophic Coverage," Daniel Levinson, Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, January 2017..In a letter to Marilyn Tavenner, the Acting Administrator of CMS, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission warned that some of the health plans don't have the experience to manage the full range of benefits required by dual eligibles or the capacity to serve large numbers that would be automatically transferred into the plans en masse at the beginning of the program..Forty-nine years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare into law and by doing so made a solemn agreement with every single American. Simply put, if you work hard and play by the rules, Medicare will be there for you when you retire..The chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Frank Pallone, Jr. has been working with the top Republican on that committee, Greg Walden of Oregon, on what measures need to be included in the next coronavirus bill. Walden is pushing for a surprise billing measure to be in the bill, but Pallone has yet to commit to it.