With Medicare and other insurers scrambling to control costs, "observation stays" in the hospital have become a loophole that could leave you footing the bill for thousands in uncovered costs. Your hospital status - whether you are an inpatient or an outpatient - makes a huge difference in how much you will have to pay for hospital services like X-rays, drugs and lab tests. But figuring out whether you are an inpatient or outpatient, believe it or not, isn't always clear..The chances are high that the next president of the United States will sign into law legislation that reforms the Social Security program and extends the solvency of the trust fund beyond 2034, its projected year of exhaustion. For years leaders in Washington have been authoring sweeping plans that would enact major benefit cuts like reduced cost-of-living adjustments or increased eligibility ages in order to strengthen the financing of the program. But the unpopularity of those plans with voters ensured those plans never went anywhere..To learn how much the COLA cuts would cost you, try TSCL's "chained" COLA calculator..The CBO estimated last November that if lawmakers wished to raise the amount of covered earnings subject to the payroll tax to 90 percent of covered earnings, then the taxable maximum would need to be set at 6,400 in 2017 and to rise to 5,000 by 202"Legislation was introduced in December that would impose deep benefit cuts," Johnson notes, "but had no provisions to provide new revenues. " "Lifting the taxable maximum cap would provide new revenues to Social Security and it could also provide a modest boost to Social Security benefits, and more adequate COLAs to all people when they retire," Johnson points out. "Our lawmakers should not be allowed to hide this option under the rug," she says. "Raising the payroll taxable maximum is the means of providing greater retirement security and long - term program solvency, " Johnson says. "We can save Social Security without the deep cuts.".TSCL will watch closely to see what, if anything, is introduced in Congress to boost Social Security payments for seniors and we will keep you posted as things move forward..This week, lawmakers continued working on an omnibus spending bill, and The Senior Citizens League endorsed new legislation that would give Social Security beneficiaries an emergency cost-of-living adjustment next year.."TSCL surveys indicate there is no support for benefit cuts among older voters," Johnson says. "We have learned, however, that there is widespread support to boost the amount of wages subject to the Social Security payroll tax, and to provide more adequate Social Security income," she says. "Raising the Social Security taxable maximum is a way to do both," she points out..On Tuesday, the House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee held a hearing on the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset, two provisions that arbitrarily reduce the earned Social Security benefits of millions of public employees. They were enacted in 1983 in an attempt to bring fairness to the system for those who receive government pensions and earn Social Security benefits, but they have not worked as intended..And while Social Security benefits have flat-lined since 2010, retirees report that household expenses are still climbing - causing people to spend retirement savings more quickly and to go into debt. This year Social Security recipients received no COLA at all, but 73 percent of survey participants reported that their monthly expenses grew by more than over the past twelve months. Things aren't likely to improve soon. The Social Security Trust Fund trustees estimate that the COLA in 2017 will be just 0.2 percent - just .00 for ,000 in benefits.
