Our nation is in a hyper-partisan period as the November elections approach. In this environment it becomes tricky when reporting about issues that affect you and other TSCL supporters because the issues are so often intertwined with politics..Homeowner's, auto, and flood insurance are three of Joe's fastest rising costs, since he lives on the eastern coast of the Florida. The insurance industry says that homeowners and auto insurance costs are impacted by both the number and intensity of severe storms in recent years..Most Americans contribute 6.2 percent of every paycheck to Social Security, but workers earning over 2,900 contribute nothing over that amoun,t due to a payroll tax cap. Around 75% of Social Security beneficiaries believe the Social Security taxable maximum should be eliminated to extend the solvency of the Trust Funds responsibly, without cutting benefits. Do you agree?."While hold harmless is very valuable protection, the lack of an adequate COLA to begin with, and rapidly growing Part B costs, will keep millions of beneficiaries stuck in a no-growth rut in 2018," Johnson says. The Senior Citizens League is advocating legislation that would provide a more fair and adequate COLA, by tying the annual adjustment to the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly. Projections for The Senior Citizens League show that by using the CPI-E, Social Security benefits would be about 9 percent higher over 25 years. A benefit of ,300 in 2017 would be about 2 per month more using the CPI-E at the end of the 25 year period instead of the current method. To learn more, visit..Gold standard. Companies acquire drugs considered the best available for the condition they treat, ensuring that physicians would continue to prescribe it even if the price increased..Many other Democrats on Capitol Hill including President Obama seemed to share his concerns. However, since the budget blueprint is a resolution and not a bill, it will not require the signature of the President, and each of the proposals that appear in it including the repeal of the ACA and the cuts to Medicare and Medicaid will require the passage of separate legislation..Our legislative team will keep a close eye on the legislation as it is implemented in the coming months, and we will continue to advocate for policies that would reduce health care costs for Medicare beneficiaries. For updates on our progress, visit the Legislative News section of our website, or follow our new page on Facebook..Medicare "Premium Support" Gains Momentum.The low COLA announcement from the trustees comes just weeks after TSCL revealed the findings of its 2016 Survey of Senior Costs. The annual survey examined the cost increases of thirty-eight key items between 2000 and 2016, and it found that Social Security benefits have lost 23 percent of their purchasing power since 2000. During that sixteen-year period, the COLA rose by 36.3 percentage points, while typical senior expenses like housing, Medicare premiums, and prescription drugs jumped 75.3 percent. The findings of the survey are a clear sign that the COLA is growing too slowly, and that it's time to switch to a more accurate measure of inflation like the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers.
