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Preliminary Analysis of the Rivlin-Ryan Health Care Proposal, Congressional Budget Office, November 17, 2010..Medicare Part B premiums are forecast to soar an astonishing 22.3% for an estimated 16 million Medicare beneficiaries in 2017 - the biggest such jump in nearly three decades. The anticipated spike in monthly premiums, from 1.80 to an estimated 9.00 per month in 2017, is primarily due to the effects of an extremely low inflation that's expected to hit retirees again next year. Medicare Trustees believe that the annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for 2017 will be insufficient to cover the amount of the Medicare Part B premium increase for the majority of Medicare beneficiaries. That would trigger a special "hold harmless" provision of law.."Obamacare Victims Are 'Liars' Says Top Democrat," Edward Morrissey, The Fiscal Times, February 27, 201Letter to The President, from House leadership, concerning Medicare Advantage cuts, February 13, 201Letter to Marilyn Tavenner, Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, from 40 Senators, concerning Medicare Advantage cuts, February 14, 2014..Just hours after the trustees released their annual reports on Wednesday, members of the House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee met with Chief Actuary Stephen Goss to discuss the findings. Many of those present at the hearing expressed their commitment to addressing the program's funding shortfall. Chairman Sam Johnson said, "The longer we wait, the tougher it will get to fix Social Security. So the sooner we act the better." Chief Actuary Goss agreed, saying: "The trustees have consistently advised that enacting changes soon, even if with delayed effective dates, will allow more options to be considered, more advance warning for those affected, and a more gradual phase-in of adjustments."."New survey data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services found 21% of beneficiaries reported forgoing health care due to the pandemic, while 46% reported feeling more stressed and anxious..This time, with large numbers of hospitals straining to care for COVID-19 patients, cutting payments to hospitals and increasing revenues is likely to be far more difficult. Hospitals across the country say they have been pushed to their financial limit. And simply raising payroll tax rates may not provide enough of a revenue in the short term if unemployment remains at high levels longer than anticipated. Payroll taxes cannot be collected from workers who are unemployed..Senator Richard Blumenthal introduced S. 269 on January 30, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Finance..TSCL Expects COLA Will Be About 1.4%.The Social Security taxable maximum is tied to the wage index, but according to the Congressional Budget Office, the limit on the amount of wages that can be taxed has not kept up with the growth of wages of the most highly paid workers. Because wages for high - income earners are growing faster than for other workers, the taxable share of the nation's earnings subject to Social Security payroll taxes is falling - from 90 percent in 1983 to 82 percent in 201The trend is forecast to continue, with the CBO projecting the share of earnings subject to payroll taxation to drop to below 78 percent by 2026.