If the Social Security COLA were based on a more accurate measure of inflation for senior citizens, next year's increase would not be 0.3 percent it would be 2.1 percent according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Do you support legislation that would base the COLA on a more accurate inflation index like the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly?.Key Prescription Drug Bill Gains Support.With about 1 million supporters, The Senior Citizens League is one of the nation's largest nonpartisan seniors groups. Located just outside Washington, D.C., its mission is to promote and assist members and supporters, to educate and alert senior citizens about their rights and freedoms as U.S. Citizens, and to protect and defend the benefits senior citizens have earned and paid for. The Senior Citizens League is a proud affiliate of TREA The Enlisted Association. Please visit or call for more information.Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle agreed at Wednesday's hearing that displaying the full Social Security number on Medicare cards puts seniors at risk for identity theft. However, the process of removing the numbers is costly and complex. Tony Trenkle, Director for the CMS Office of Information Services stated, "It's going to be a massive undertaking if we go down this road." He explained that the process would require a technology system update and massive education efforts for beneficiaries, providers, and business associates..Why is the coronavirus so different from previous flu outbreaks?.Coming Months Could be the Roughest Yet.TSCL believes Congress will need to make some difficult spending cut decisions, and soon, in order to find the savings needed to address Medicare shortfalls, while ensuring access to doctors and adequate Medicare coverage without reducing benefits. Notch Babies who turn 85 to 94 this year are hit particularly hard because they are at the age when they are more likely to have chronic health conditions that require costly treatment..This week, the Social Security and Medicare Trustees released their annual reports on the financial health of the programs. In addition, Senator David Vitter's Notch Fairness Act and Representative Buck McKeon's Social Security Fairness Act each gained one new cosponsor..As inflation continues to steeply increase prices, older consumers are reporting that food has been the fastest growing category of their household budgets so far this year, according to a new survey by The Senior Citizens League. The same survey also found that nearly one out of five survey respondents, 19 percent, say they have visited a food pantry or applied for food stamps since the beginning of this year," says Mary Johnson, Social Security policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League.
