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Your benefits would drop further as rising Medicare costs take a bigger portion of Social Security payments. This is already occurring even under current law, but the problem would be accelerated if Social Security benefits grow more slowly, and if Medicare cuts make seniors pay more for their healthcare..A recent report by the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services has also found that high price drugs are affecting federal spending on drugs and increasing federal payments for Medicare Part D catastrophic coverage. Once people hit the catastrophic level of Part D coverage, beneficiaries pay a 5% coinsurance for drugs while the Federal Government pays the vast majority of the remaining costs. But there is no limit. The Inspector General's report said that federal payments for catastrophic coverage in 2015 exceeded .2 billion in 2015, which is more than triple the amount paid in 20Incredibly, only ten high-priced drugs accounted for nearly one-third of all drug spending in catastrophic coverage in 2015..Pharmaceutical manufacturers hiked the list price of a record 832 drugs last month - nearly 200 more than January 2020 and the highest since at least 201All but 10 were branded drugs and 175 of those were specialty drugs, according to the report..To maximize your deductions, plan to take a quiet moment to organize your health expense paper work and get up to speed on allowable medical expenses. Even the most compulsive record-keeper can miss some. Remember that any unreimbursed premiums you pay for Part A, Part B, Medicare Advantage Plans, Medigap and Part D plans are deductible. In addition, here are a few of the commonly missed deductions, but be sure to talk to a professional tax preparer or financial advisor to check the availability of any possible deductions for you:.The record low COLAs in recent years that haven't stopped politicians in Washington from proposing more reductions by using the more slowly- growing "chained" CPI, to calculate COLAs. According to TSCL's online "Chained COLA" calculator, over the first 10 years alone a ,000 per month benefit would lose about ,555 in growth under the proposal..A growing number of workers expect to rely heavily on Social Security for most of their income, but three-quarters of current retirees are receiving reduced benefits. The retirement age is gradually rising to 67 and, by taking benefits when first eligible at age 62, beneficiaries settle for permanently reduced benefits. Delaying benefits until "full retirement age" or thereafter is the best way to maximize benefits. For example at full retirement age retirees due a monthly benefit of ,000 would receive only 0 at age 62 if they took it. Individuals who can continue to work and delay retirement until 70 can receive a benefit ,320 instead. But even the individuals who wait until age 70 to allow benefits to grow to their maximum, would still be living close to the federal poverty level if Social Security is their only income..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..The legislation prevents a 19% Social Security disability benefit cut by a short-term reallocation of payroll tax revenue in 2016 through 201This would be sufficient to pay benefits until 2022 and would not affect the 2034 depletion date of the Social Security retirement trust fund, according to Social Security's Chief Actuary..The COLA isn't living up to the promise of protecting the buying power of your benefits, and retirees are getting short changed. We need to work together to enact legislation that will provide a more fair and adequate COLA. To learn how you can get involved visit:.