Seventy - nine percent of older Americans think the highest -earning workers should be paying Social Security taxes on all of their wages, just like other workers do, according to recent survey by The Senior Citizens League. "The issue is a top priority with older voters, many of whom are outraged at recent legislative proposals to cut Social Security benefits and cost-of-living adjustments," says Mary Johnson, a Social Security policy analyst for TSCL..Three Bills Gain Support.Legislation is currently under consideration in the House, The Social Security 2100 Act, that would adjust the income thresholds that subject Social Security benefits to taxation, from ,000 to ,000 for single filers and from ,000 to 0,000 for joint filers. According to a survey by The Senior Citizens League, 55 percent of survey participants support lifting the threshold for taxation of Social Security benefits to those levels, and only 12 percent oppose. The bill would pay for this as well as providing a boost in Social Security benefits and a more generous cost-of-living adjustment, by increasing the amount of wages subject to payroll taxes and by very gradually increasing the tax rate that workers and employers pay..TSCL is happy to announce that one key piece of legislation gained support in the House of Representatives this week. The Improving Access to Affordable Prescription Drugs Act gained a new cosponsor in Representative Pete Visclosky, bringing the total up to twenty. If signed into law, H.R. 1776 would require the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries, allow the importation of prescription drugs from Canada, accelerate the closing of the Part D "doughnut hole," and cap monthly prescription drug expenses at 0, among other things..On Wednesday, Congressman John Garamendi introduced the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act at a press conference with several advocates for older Americans, including TSCL. If adopted, his bill would base Social Security COLAs on a more accurate measure of inflation using the CPI-E. Currently, they are based on the way young workers spend their money using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners..The law, however, also shifts the entire beneficiary share of Part B premium costs to the remaining 30% of individuals who are not protected by the hold harmless provision. An estimated 16 million people will take a financial hit from spiking Part B premiums unless Congress takes action. They include:.need to re-evaluate how your money is invested and your need for dividend or."The FDA's action came despite a 10-0 vote in November against approval by its panel of expert advisers, who were dubious that data from two clinical trials showed the drug was effective in early Alzheimer's patients with mild cognitive impairment; three members resigned in protest from the panel last week. The surprising decision leaves doctors turning back to data from those trials, which had conflicting results: One barely met its primary endpoint, and the other did not. As if that is not confusing enough, the mental decline that is considered an early sign of Alzheimer's disease is also present in other age-related disorders, which makes it hard to discern which patients have the disease.".Caregiving, however, is a huge commitment in time and financial resources for the caregiver, who often has to take time off from work, and give up his or her own retirement savings to provide care for others. Although Susan's mom receives Railroad Retirement benefits and has a small savings to reimburse Susan for expenses, Andrew, who is too disabled to ever have ever worked, is dependent on Medicaid and receives only a modest monthly Social Security disability benefit of just Susan and her husband cover all the rest of Andrew's expenses - housing, food, uncovered medical expenses, transportation, clothing, and anything else.
