Health Reform Issue Brief Implementing New Private Health Insurance Market Rules 2TSCL would like to remind you that now is the perfect time to approach your Members of Congress at local events and request their support for a fair Social Security cost-of-living adjustment and for other key issues..Through 2012, annual COLA increases have been tied to the increase in the consumer price index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. Deficit reduction plans would switch to a more slowly-growing CPI known as the "chained" CPI to determine COLAs. Traditional CPIs measure the increase in prices. But the chained CPI doesn't. It measures consumer spending when prices go up. For example if the price of beef goes up, it assumes people switch to less costly choices, like chicken. The chained CPI measures inflation as growing less slowly than traditional indexes..I had the opportunity to interview Florida retiree Joe S., who told me how he is impacted, living in one of the most hurricane prone areas in the U.S. - Brevard County, Florida. In September, after hanging 20 hurricane shutters on his home, Joe and his wife evacuated for three days and rode out hurricane Dorian 110 miles inland. Gas, hotel, food costs totaled 0.00. Unexpected expenses like these are hard to plan for. … Continued
Careers Contact Health Talent AcquisitionThe federal government negotiates prescription drug prices for Medicaid enrollees and for veterans, but it is not allowed to negotiate lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries. Do you support this policy?.Changes in social activity level. What sort of social circle does your friend have? Besides getting together with you, does she visit with others, participate in religious activities, or other group events? Does your friend still work on favorite hobbies, or is she starting to drop interest?.But, unlike other parts of the tax code which are adjusted for inflation, such as income brackets, the income thresholds that subject a portion of Social Security benefits to taxation have never been adjusted. "Today, the Social Security benefits of even modest-income retirees - those who have modified gross incomes of more than ,000 or ,000 - are affected by the tax," Johnson says. Had the income thresholds been adjusted for inflation the ,000 threshold would be about ,137 today and the ,000 would be about ,815, using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' inflation calculator. … Continued