In advocating for emergency COLAs TSCL has in the past, recommended that legislation contain wording that such COLA increases and Social Security benefits boosts be disregarded or not counted, in determining eligibility for SNAP, rental assistance, and other low - income benefits. In addition, TSCL is calling on Congress to pass a ,400 stimulus payment for Social Security recipients, to help offset potential reductions or loss of low-income benefits..Today millions of older women are depending on insufficient Social Security benefits to get them through a retirement that can stretch up to 30 years. Low benefits mean people have to spend more of their retirement savings at a faster pace than anticipated..Two Ways and Means Subcommittees held hearings on reforming Medicare and Social Security this week. On Tuesday, the Health Subcommittee heard from a panel of experts on Medicare reform, and on Thursday, the Social Security Subcommittee met to discuss potential changes to the program..This week, appropriators in the House and Senate revealed a unique proposal to prevent a government shutdown on December 11th. It would fund the entire federal government through the remainder of the fiscal year, except for the Department of Homeland Security. That agency would only receive funding through the next three months, which should buy lawmakers enough time to solidify a legislative response to President Obama's recent immigration orders..While your Members of Congress are in their home states and districts, it is the perfect time to approach them at local events and request their support for a fair Social Security cost-of-living adjustment and other key issues..On Monday, a group of three Senators Amy Klobuchar, John McCain, and Chuck Grassley sent a letter to the White House urging the administration to utilize its executive power to reduce prescription drug costs..More Means Testing For Medicare: Higher income seniors with incomes of more than ,000 already pay more for their Medicare Part B and Part D premiums. More seniors will pay the higher costs in the future because the income threshold is not adjusted for inflation. President Obama has proposed raising the amounts that higher-income seniors would pay, and proposes new income thresholds that would push seniors into higher premium brackets more quickly..A majority of the 54 million senior and disabled Americans who receive Social Security depend on it for at least 50 percent of their total income, and one in three beneficiaries rely on it for 90 percent or more of their total income..On the other hand, much of the other CPI data has been pretty tame. Housing costs and medical care services are rising, but still more slowly than prior to the pandemic. I'm in the process of collecting price data for TSCL's annual report on the Social Security Loss of Buying Power. If you would like to send in examples of your rising costs, please feel free to do so online at "Share Your Story".

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Administration Making Efforts To Rein In Medicare Fraud.Nearly 20% of participants in TSCL's Senior Survey say they spent ,100 or more out-of-pocket on prescription drugs in 201And, as we age, all of us face the grim potential that a new health problem could increase our spending on prescription drugs to this level. Doing nothing to lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries is not a good option..A person receiving the national average Social Security benefit in 2000 - 6 per month - would have ,226.60 per month by 201However, because retiree costs are rising at a substantially faster pace than the COLA, that individual would require a Social Security benefit of 7.90 more per month, or ,634.50 in 2019, just to maintain his or her 2000 level of buying power. … Continued

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New eligibility rules make it considerably easier for millions of applicants, including seniors under the age of 65, who are too young for Medicare, to qualify for the program. But older seniors continue to have much more restrictive and stringent asset and savings tests to satisfy before they qualify for Medicaid, because the new rules don't apply to seniors age 65 and older. This sets up inequities in benefits between seniors like Notch Babies who are in their late 80s and 90s and who are more likely to be receiving long-term care, and other people younger than 65 who will benefit from the less stringent Medicaid qualification rules..Verma has an extensive background working with the Medicaid program, but she lacks experience working on complicated Medicare issues. Should Republicans in Congress successfully repeal the ACA as planned, she will oversee the transition period, as well as the implementation of a possible replacement plan. Verma will also be tasked with administering the Medicare program as it navigates a funding crisis caused by the ACA's expected repeal..Notch Reform is far from being over though. Officially there are more co-sponsors of "The Notch Fairness Act" than ever before at the end of the first year of a session of Congress and support is ahead of last-sessions record-breaking numbers. With enough co-sponsors signed on, TSCL and the grass roots can help force the bill to the floor for a straight up and down vote. We urge you, and the families of all Notch Babies, to contact your Members of Congress. Ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 615, and enact "The Notch Fairness Act." … Continued

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