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TSCL is calling on Congressional leaders to make them aware of the situation and to propose a 2.5% Emergency COLA..Those people include Barbara B. - a retired home healthcare aide who lives in the Indianapolis area. "We're due for the increase," she says. But rising Part B premiums will likely take her entire COLA, leaving her with no increase at all in her net operating Social Security benefit again in 2018..Most surviving children would not be eligible for Notch Fairness Act benefits, but the issue should concern every single child of a Notch Baby. Recent Social Security reform proposals to attach a "price index" to the Social Security benefit formula would cut benefits for future retirees in a manner similar to the 1977 changes that led to the Notch. In addition, Congress thus far has taken no constructive non-partisan action to address Social Security's looming shortfall - meaning they may have to make very deep and abrupt cuts when they can no longer stall for time..To learn more about how Medicare covers hospital services, see your copy of the "Medicare & You" 2011 handbook that you received last fall, call or visit..In the weeks ahead, The Senior Citizens League will be closely monitoring discussions in the House and Senate to repeal the ACA since they will impact older Americans in several ways. For instance, Medicare Part D beneficiaries who fall into the coverage gap or "doughnut hole" will face higher costs for their prescription drugs, and the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund that finances Medicare Part A will lose a critical stream of funding. For updates on the repeal of the ACA, visit the Legislative News section of our website, or follow TSCL on Facebook or Twitter..According to the three Senators, under current law, the administration has the authority to allow pharmacists and wholesale retailers to import prescription drugs from Canada, where medicines are often half the price. The administration also has the power to issue an executive order that would allow individuals to import prescription drugs from Canada for their own personal use..The House-Senate Conference Committee met multiple times this week for public negotiations, but little progress seems to have been made. The group of twenty must come to an agreement before the end of the month in order to: continue unemployment payments, block a Medicare doctor payment cut, and extend the Social Security payroll tax cut..Just years before they retired these individuals learned they would have significantly lower benefits than they expected because of amendments to the Social Security Act that were signed into law in 1977 and which have compounded over time..Last week TSCL was part of a virtual meeting with Senator John Thune who, as the Majority Whip, is the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, after Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.