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2020 Social Security Trustees Report, April 22, 2020. "COVID-19 May Deplete Social Security Trust Funds This Decade," Nicko Gladstone, Shai Akabas, Bipartisan Policy Center, April 22, 2020..It's likely the surprise billing package will be attached to the year-end government spending bill, as lawmakers attempted to do late last year, assuming they can come to an agreement by the end of the year..What is TSCL?.By Rick Delaney, Chairman of the Board, TSCL.Administration Making Efforts To Rein In Medicare Fraud.This week, Congressman John Garamendi introduced legislation that would base Social Security cost-of-living adjustments on a more accurate measure of inflation. In addition, The Senior Citizens League announced its support for a bill that would make the Social Security program more equitable for public servants..Another concern about congressional inaction on the debt ceiling is the potential for cuts to programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. In recent debates, Social Security benefits have been used as a bargaining chip and have been held hostage to the debt limit increase. Some retirees have felt the sting of unexpected benefit cuts. In 2015, following the passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act, millions of seniors, already eligible for Social Security benefits, learned that an important claiming method called "file and suspend" a particularly important protection for women who tend to have lower benefits than men would no longer be an option to them..If signed into law, the Protecting and Preserving Social Security Act would amend title II of the Social Security Act to calculate cost-of-living adjustments based on the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers. It would also amend the Internal Revenue Code to gradually eliminate the cap on income subject to the payroll tax..TSCL agrees with Congressman Garamendi, and we hope to see his CPI-E Act signed into law before the end of the 115th Congress. For more information on H.R. 1251, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website. To read The Senior Citizens League's Loss of Buying Power study, click HERE.

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New study says drug prices really have been increasing.According to an article in Statnews.com, "It is looking increasingly like the U.S. may not experience a flu season this year. To date, fewer than 1,600 people in the entire country have tested positive for influenza since the 2020-2021 flu monitoring period began last October; of those, 32 were recorded in the week ending Feb. 2Most flu seasons, somewhere between 100 and 200 children die from flu; so far this season there has been a single pediatric flu death. Experts believe mask wearing, social distancing, and enhanced hand hygiene practices adopted for Covid-19 control are contributing to the low numbers of circulating flu viruses.".While appliances and used vehicles are generally only purchased occasionally, 2020 was not a good time to be shopping for a new washing machine or used car. Appliances increased by an astonishing 17.2 percent and used vehicles rose by 10.9 percent. Johnson points out that, this time a year ago, the price increases of used vehicle prices were negative, at minus 12 percent. However, manufacturers of appliances as well as new cars and trucks shut down production lines at the start of the pandemic. While plants have slowly re-opened, supply chain disruptions and social distancing requirements have slowed production recovery. That's led to long waiting lists for appliances, and the demand for used vehicles shot up. … Continued

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House Appropriations Committee Chair Hal Rogers has said he hopes to wrap up negotiations on policy riders by the end of Friday, so that a final version can be brought to the House floor early next week. He said, "My goal is Monday to be able to file the bill, to start the clock.".If you own a pet and have been to the vet lately, the bill may have taken a big bite out of your budget. Like human healthcare, the cost of vet services is growing several times faster than inflation. But unlike human healthcare, the cost of vet services has been growing even faster than the cost of medical services from your doctor 68% faster in 2013 alone. And although you may have Medicare or some other type of health insurance for yourself, chances are you don't have health insurance for your pet meaning you foot 100% of the vet bills..Although the annual adjustment is provided to protect the buying power of Social Security payments, beneficiaries report a growing disparity between the amount of benefit boosts they receive and increasing costs. According to a recent national survey by TSCL, the majority of Social Security recipients said that their benefits rose by less than in 2014, yet their monthly expenses rose by more than A 1.7% increase would only boost average Social Security benefits by about in January. … Continued