The effect tends to be tempered by the fact that the federal poverty level itself is adjusted for inflation every year, using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers. In most years the CPI-U grows slightly faster than the index used to adjust Social Security benefits, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. Thus, it tends to keep pace with the COLA. But in 2020, the CPI-U grew more slowly than the COLA, growing just 1% instead of the CPI-W's 1.3%. Thus, SNAP benefits and many other types of benefits were reduced or even eliminated this year for some beneficiaries..Second, one new cosponsor Senator Debbie Stabenow signed on to the bipartisan Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification Act, bringing the cosponsor total up to three. If adopted, S. 1909 would simplify and modernize the complex Medicare enrollment process..The far greater worry, however, is a sharp increase in almost every source of quality protein - including meat, poultry, and even canned tuna. "With many meat price increases in the double digits, we are highly concerned that older households may not be getting adequate supplies of protein in their diets," Johnson says. "This was a nationwide problem prior to the pandemic, and the problem has been exacerbated by shortages and disruptions during the pandemic," she points out..[i] Social Security Disability Insurance Trust Fund: Background and Solvency Issues, William R. Morton, Congressional Research Service, November 20, 2-13, R43318..Some of the most talked-about plans using a "chained" consumer price index to calculate annual cost-of-living adjustments, cutting the payroll tax, and reducing benefits for people who are currently retired or nearing retirement would devastate many of the most vulnerable seniors..Prices charged for the category of drugs known as "specialty medications" are exploding so quickly that they're now a key source of concern for both consumers and Congress. Specialty drugs include those used to treat cancer, multiple sclerosis and rare health conditions. Spending on these drugs under Medicare almost quadrupled in recent years, rising from .7 billion in 2010 to .8 billion in 201On the other hand, spending on the same drugs under Medicaid, the program that provides healthcare for low-income Americans, grew much more slowly over the same period, rising from .8 billion to .9 billion..Supreme Court Rules on Immigration Orders.Immigrants use fake or stolen Social Security numbers to work in the U.S., and the SSA receives more than 9 million W2s every year in which the name and Social Security number don't match those in the Administration's records. Those W2s are saved to a special Earnings Suspense File until the SSA reconciles them with the rightful owner at a later date, which can occur years later when a claim is filed..Boosting benefits across-the-board by approximately 2% for all Social Security recipients;
