In addition, one new cosponsor Rep. William Lacy Clay signed on to the Social Security Fairness Act this week, bringing the total up to 167..According to a new survey by The Senior Citizens League, premiums for Medicare supplemental insurance, known as Medigap, grew more than twice as fast as Social Security cost of living -adjustments in the past year. About 41 percent of survey participants who are covered by a Medigap policy report robust premium increases in the past 12 months of at least 6 percent or more, particularly for individuals who were covered by a policy for more than two years. "The Social Security COLA for 2019 is 2.8 percent, far lower than the rate that Medigap policies appear to be growing," says Mary Johnson, a Social Security and Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League..I believe Social Security is a promise made to hard working Americans a promise that must be kept. We need to improve our economy to get folks back to work and paying into the program so our children and grandchildren have access to the same social safety net. I will work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to keep these promises made to seniors and it starts by passing H.R. 973..Over the years, TSCL surveys indicate that older Americans overwhelmingly oppose totally replacing Medicare with a system of private insurance plans. On the other hand, the design of traditional Medicare alone has a considerably high level of out-of-pocket spending, and no annual out-of-pocket limit. That leaves an important role for private insurers to fill in the gap with Medigap supplements or Medicare Advantage plans..Rep. Elijah Cummings introduced H.R. 3513 on September 10, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and to the Committee on Ways and Means..By U.S. Senator Tim Kaine.Sound like we're headed for a vicious cycle? The sheer paralysis that lawmakers have contended with in responding to our current sluggish economy over the past two years is an early warning that we are nearing the edge. Even so there are still some who brush off anxiety over Social Security's financing by saying "Social Security is an easy fix.".TSCL hopes that most of these people who lost SNAP benefits at least received emergency stimulus payments in 2020 and 2021 to help cover the loss of these benefits. But we are highly concerned that a high COLA could have similar unintended consequences for low income retirees in 2022.."But there's still time for Congress to pass legislation to provide an emergency COLA," says Cates. TSCL strongly supports legislation that would provide 70 million Americans with a one-time emergency COLA payment of 3.9%. The Seniors and Veterans Emergency Benefits Act was introduced last fall by Senator Elizabeth Warren, and a companion bill was introduced in the House by Representative Tammy Duckworth.
