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Most seniors and their family members feel stymied by trying to figure out which plan would be the best choice. You may also worry that pre-existing health conditions make it difficult to change plans. That's not the case but either way, you will benefit from discussing your situation with a Medicare benefits counselor, not an insurance agent. Free, unbiased counseling is available through your State Health Insurance Assistance Program which operates in almost every area of the country. Local Area Agencies on Aging can refer you to counselors who help you learn about and understand your health plan choices, and to make a switch..The bill would provide seniors with vision benefits in 2022, hearing benefits in 2023 and some dental benefits by 202Progressives are pushing for an earlier start to the dental benefits and that the government increase its share of the cost, which ramps up to 50% by 2032..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..To determine if a portion of the taxpayer's Social Security benefits are taxable, half of Social Security benefits are added to the adjusted gross income, plus any tax - exempt interest, and certain other tax - exempt income. "Few people today think of an adjusted gross income of as little as ,000 -,000 as 'substantial' income," Johnson says. To calculate the taxable portion of benefits, taxpayers can find a worksheet in IRS publication 915..This week, lawmakers remained in their home states and districts to finish the two-week spring recess..If signed into law, H.R. 4012 would provide Social Security beneficiaries and retired military members with a 3.9 percent COLA in 2016, which would amount to around 1 for the average beneficiary. It would offset the cost of the emergency COLA and extend the life of the Social Security Trust Funds by closing tax loopholes for corporate executives..This week, one new cosponsor Rep. John Fleming signed on to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher's No Social Security for Illegal Immigrants Act. The total is now up to twenty-four. If signed into law, Rep. Rohrabacher's bill would prevent Social Security credits from being earned by work done illegally. Currently, those who receive "green cards" or work authorization may file a claim for Social Security benefits based on all earnings even earnings from jobs where they used stolen, invalid, or fraudulent Social Security numbers. TSCL believes that this practice must be put to an end in order to protect the integrity of the Social Security program, and we were pleased to see support grow for it this week..In addition, since 1992 there has been a significant change to the government's bottom line. For the government fiscal year ending September 30, 2000, the Congressional Budget Office reported a surplus of 6 billion- billion of which comes from non Social Security revenues. The CBO estimates the 10-year non-Social Security surplus to be about .1 trillion..This week, sixteen new cosponsors signed on to H.CON.RES. 72, which expresses the sense of Congress that Social Security and Medicare should be protected from benefit cuts by the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. This cosponsor surge brings the total up to 28.