Members of Congress and candidates frequently schedule town halls. Voters get an opportunity to ask questions and to learn the candidates' positions on key issues. Be prepared by having questions in hand when you attend. Here are some ideas:.The billion could be financed without taking money from the Social Security Trust Fund. One way is through reduction of pork barrel spending and government waste. In the fiscal year 2001 budget alone, pork "watch-dog" Senator John McCain estimated that the government would spend a record billion in pork-barrel projects..If you are under age 65 and uninsured, be sure to claim the correct income if you purchase health insurance through or a state health insurance exchange. When you purchase health insurance through the federal or a state health insurance exchange, you may qualify for a subsidy that helps lower the costs of your premiums. In reality that subsidy is an advance tax credit based on income. If you received a subsidy in 2014, and your income is higher than you estimated, you could wind up having to pay some or even all of it back at tax time. If your income has gone up, contact or your state insurance exchange to update your information. Coverage for 2014 ends December 31, 201Open enrollment for 2015 is now underway and runs through February 15, 2015..While that is certainly better than 2010 and 2011 when inflation was so low that no COLA was paid for two years in a row, it's unlikely to cover seniors' real cost increases. Earlier this year we surveyed our readers and 89% reported that the 1.7% COLA in 2013 increased benefits by less than per month. On the other hand, almost the same number, 88%, reported that their total monthly expenses rose by more than Unfortunately the majority of those people, 40%, said that their monthly costs rose by more than 9..New Part D plan drug pricing programs may lower costs for those who seek out the savings. Recent Congressional scrutiny on drug pricing may be spurring some drug plans to drop prices. One of the biggest cost-savings found is a new drug plan pricing program that lowers the cost of insulin. In the 2018, the lowest cost Part D plan charged an copay for a 100/ML of Lantus Solostar. In 2019, a different plan had lowest cost copays charging as little as .00 - .00 for Lantus Solostar, in the Cigna-HealthSpring Rx Secure - Extra Part D plan. The highest cost plan, which does not cover Lantus, charges the full price, 3.18 per 100/ML..Keep retirement accounts invested in age appropriate choices..Then in early 2018 when the 2017 payroll returns are filed by your employer, Social Security will verify how much you actually earned in 2017, and may repay any excess benefits that were withheld or let you know if they did not withhold enough. But beware! TSCL has learned of cases where these recalculations have been wrong and very time consuming to get corrected..To read the full statement from Chairman Cates on Thursday's Supreme Court decision, click HERE..Rep. Elijah Cummings introduced H.R. 3513 on September 10, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and to the Committee on Ways and Means.

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By Representative Matt Cartwright.Advisor editor Mary Johnson estimates that using the chained CPI would cut lifetime Social Security benefits by about 7% over 25 years. New retirees with an average benefit of ,100 in 2010 would receive about ,634 less over a 25-year retirement period. "The financial impact is deceptive, appearing small at first," says TSCL Executive Director, Shannon Benton, "But the cuts compound over time, growing deepest when seniors are the oldest and sickest. By the time seniors are in their late 80's or 90's, when they are most likely to have chronic health problems, monthly benefits would be about 5 lower using the chained CPI.".Under current law the Social Security COLA is calculated based on the spending patterns of younger working adults using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. But older consumers spend a bigger portion of their household budgets on healthcare and housing, two categories that have been increasing more rapidly in recent years. "Medicare Part B premiums are the fastest growing cost most retirees will ever have," notes Johnson. "But those costs are not even surveyed under the CPI-W or reflected in today's COLA," she says. … Continued

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One of the orders would allow for the legal importation of cheaper prescription drugs from countries like Canada. The second would require discounts from drug companies now captured by middlemen that are then passed on to patients..Some 13% of the people who receive both Medicare and Medicaid are 85 and older. The youngest Notch Babies turned 85 last year, while the oldest turned 9With over four million Notch Babies and their widows, TSCL believes that roughly one-quarter of Notch Babies receive both Medicaid, as well as Medicare..The COLA as currently calculated is failing to protect the buying power of the beneficiaries for whom it is intended. TSCL supports legislation, the 3% COLA Act, that would ensure a more fair and adequate COLA two ways. It would base the annual boost on an index that more accurately reflects of the costs of older Americans - the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly. In addition, the legislation would require an annual minimum COLA of no less than 3%. … Continued

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