The Senior Citizens League supports legislation called the Fair COLA for Seniors Act that would strengthen the annual COLA by tying it to a "seniors" index, the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers, which over time is expected to provide modestly higher benefits than the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, which is used to calculate the COLA under current law. In addition, TSCL supports legislation that would provide a minimum COLA of no less than 3%. This would provide extra protection in years when inflation is below that amount..First, the bipartisan Consumer Price Index for the Elderly Act gained one new cosponsor in Representative Mark DeSaulnier, bringing the total up to fifty. If signed into law, the bill which was introduced by Representative John Garamendi last year would improve the adequacy of the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment by basing it on the spending patterns of older Americans..To begin with, it will apply only to some seniors, depending on which Medicare supplement program they enroll in, and it is completely voluntary on the part of both the supplement provider and the individual enrolled in Medicare..TSCL agrees, and we fear that if triggered, the IPAB's recommendations could lead to higher costs for seniors or decreased access to quality medical care. We are enthusiastic supporters of Rep. Roe's bill, and we were pleased to see it win passage in the House this week..Social Security beneficiaries received a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment this year, but millions of older Americans with low benefits have seen their increases completely offset by higher Medicare Part B premiums. Do you support the Fair COLA for Seniors Act, which would give beneficiaries a more adequate Social Security COLA?.Recent healthcare reform legislation gradually reduces what beneficiaries must spend when they reach the Part D doughnut hole or gap in coverage. Medicare consumers who hit the doughnut hole receive a 50 percent discount on brand name drugs and a 7 percent discount on generics in 201While that's good news, don't breathe any sighs of relief just yet. Seniors and the disabled who hit the doughnut hole must still spend ,448 in total drug costs in 2011 before they reach catastrophic coverage period..Click here to learn more about the NASI survey..When it comes to the Social Security cost-of-living adjustments many, if not most, of you say that you feel the government is cooking the inflation data. The COLA seldom seems to reflect the growing costs you experience. Two factors are to blame; the choice of a consumer price index used to calculate your COLA, and the methodology that our government uses to calculate price inflation to begin with..Lowering drug prices is a singular area where bipartisan legislation could make it into law this year. On Monday, Senator Jeanne Shaheen in introduced legislation that would cut the cost of insulin by 75% compared with the level expected in 2020. The proposal would create a new pricing model that limits the use of rebates for Medicare Part D and the private insurance market, Sens. Tom Carper, Susan Collins and Kevin Cramer have already signed on as co-sponsors to the legislation.
