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This week, Members of Congress continued working on a .1 trillion spending bill to fund the federal government past December 11th. Lawmakers in the Senate passed a five-day continuing resolution on Thursday afternoon to buy more time for the negotiations. At the time of writing this week's update, those in the House had not yet passed the stopgap funding bill, but they are expected to overwhelmingly vote in its favor before midnight on December 11th, and President Obama has already said he will sign the short-term fix into law..Appropriations Talks Continue.Hospitals and other medical providers were forced to stop routine "non-urgent and elective care" earlier this year to preserve scarce personal protective equipment and to avoid the risk of spreading the coronavirus. Once considered a sector of the economy impervious to most economic disruptions, these lost visits have become a financial crisis for many healthcare providers..In January of 2021, bipartisan legislation, the Social Security Fairness Act, which would eliminate the WEP and the GPO, was introduced by Rep. Rodney Davis. To date, the bill has 136 co-sponsors including BOTH Democrats and Republicans. TSCL strongly endorses this legislation and we encourage you to ask your Representative to support it. Public service employees deserve to get all the Social Security benefits they rightfully have paid for..About 75 million people in the U.S. are 60 and older. Recently, about four-fifths of the nation's Covid deaths have occurred in that population..What do you think about expanding the role of Medicare Advantage plans? Visit us at and send us your comments..In the months ahead, The Senior Citizens League will continue to advocate for these and other policy solutions that would boost and strengthen Social Security benefits for current and future beneficiaries. For progress updates, follow The Senior Citizens League on Twitter..They believe we should consider increasing future Social Security benefits..Seniors have earned their Social Security benefits. It is our duty as elected representatives to protect them, which strengthens the fabric of our nation, making our society healthier and our communities stronger.

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Divide family size-packages into single servings: You can't afford to buy big packages every week, but with careful planning you might be able to buy one big package of something once a month and get enough portions to feed you for two months. Soon after purchasing divide your family pack into smaller individual portions and freeze or store appropriately. Hint: Use a good cling film and wrap individual portions. Freeze in reusable zipper bags. Mark with contents and date..Cutting Benefits for Current Retirees or Any Americans Over Age 50: Many current retirees are already struggling financially, and people need adequate time to plan and prepare for changes to something as important as Social Security..Last year, more than one-fourth of participants in TSCL's Senior Survey reported that they had received a "surprise" medical bill in the past 12 months. While surprise medical bills can refer to any number of situations, including a sudden cost increase for prescriptions, recent legislation passed in December of 2020 addresses a certain type. Specifically, medical bills that a patient unexpectedly receives when treated by an out-of-network provider at an in-network facility. … Continued

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The task for the Administration is to figure out how to ensure patients don't unknowingly sign away their new protections, monitor and punish providers who violate the ban, and establish a process for settling disputes, among other complicated considerations. The ban is due to take effect in January..Congress recently ended two Social Security claiming strategies that helped couples maximize their retirement income. The strategies being eliminated allowed individuals to claim a spousal benefit while their own retirement benefits continued to grow. The "file and suspend" option is no longer available for people who will be younger than age 66 on April 30, 201Those older than age 66 on that date are grandfathered in and still able to use the claiming strategy. If you and your husband won't be 66 until later in the year, your husband would not be able to file and suspend as planned..Research conducted by Johnson for The Senior Citizens League has found that Social Security benefits have lost 34 percent of their buying power since 2000 because the index used to calculate the annual cost-of-living-adjustment increase doesn't adequately factor in the cost increases experienced by retirees. In 2000, for example, it cost 5 to fill up a 500-gallon home-heating oil tank. The average benefit amount in 2000 was 6, leaving older homeowners with 1 to put toward other household expenses. Today, it costs about ,640 to fill the same oil tank, but those who received benefits of 6 in 2000 only receive ,193.10 in 201"That leaves older consumers digging into savings or borrowing to make up the difference of 6.90," Johnson says. "The Social Security loss of buying power for 2018–2019 appears likely to continue to get worse." … Continued