This may be difficult to believe, but consumer price index data suggests that the annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for 2020 could be close to zero next year - a mere 0.5 percentage point. This comes even as the costs of goods and services used by retirees are shooting upward according to responses to TSCL's 2019 Senior Survey..A third initiative will increase access to nutritious foods for homebound individuals who can no longer drive by allowing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to be used for food delivery services. In addition, the Department of Transportation will be rolling out a new project called the National Aging and Disability Transportation Center. The .5 million initiative will help develop transportation options available to homebound older Americans..TSCL would like to thank Reps. Allen West, Madeleine Bordallo, Cedric Richmond, Tom Marino, and Bill Posey for taking the time to discuss the issues that are most important to our members and supporters. TSCL also met with Anna Gonzalez, Rules Associate for Rep. Alcee Hastings, and Brett Richards, Legislative Assistant to Rep. Steven Palazzo..Nearly twenty new initiatives were revealed at Monday's conference. In his speech, President Obama announced one that will encourage workers to save more for retirement by helping states create new workplace-based savings opportunities. Currently, around one-third of all employees do not have access to a workplace retirement plan. The initiative announced on Monday will "provide a clear path forward for states to create retirement savings programs" by the end of this year, President Obama said..I have been investigating the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs for some time. During my investigation, I have been contacted by a huge range of people - patients, doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers - all warning about massive price increases of certain medications. They gave me example, after example, of drug prices that have been jacked up repeatedly - with no apparent justification, and with no evident link to any increases in the costs of manufacturing these drugs..I was looking forward to saving some money on premiums when I started Medicare. Boy was I surprised when my doctor discovered a new health problem and my out-of-pocket costs jumped instead. How can I budget for this in the future? I'm in a Medicare Advantage plan..Two powerful Senators from the President's party have also discussed this issue. According to the same report, the number two Republican in the Senate, John Thune of South Dakota has said, "We've got to fix that. It's going to take presidential leadership to do that, and it's going to take courage by the Congress to make some hard votes. We can't keep kicking the can down the road. I hope in a second term, he is interested," Thune said of Trump. "With his leadership, I think we could start dealing with that crisis. And it is a crisis.".The Senior Citizens League supports proposals that strengthens Medicare for dental, vision and audio services, and cuts prescription drug costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate prices. To learn more visit:..To help protect the buying power of benefits, TSCL supports legislation that would base COLAs on the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly.
