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About four million seniors born from 1917 through 1926, commonly referred to as "Notch Babies," would receive their choice of a ,000 lump-sum payable in four annual installments, or higher monthly Social Security benefits. The legislation, known as "The Notch Fairness Act" seeks to correct a disparity in benefits caused the last time Congress overhauled the benefit formula in 1977, that began to affect seniors who started to retire just two years later..If enacted, this bill will make prescription drugs more affordable and accessible to American families. It will encourage drug companies to put people before profits, not the other way around..From 1950 through 1974, Social Security benefits were increased 11 times through separate pieces of ad hoc legislation at irregular intervals. The increases varied just as they do today but averaged 8% per year over the 24-year period although there were long lapses between COLAs during some periods..By Representative Charlie Wilson.Extremely low Social Security cost of living adjustments have significantly impacted the retirement income of almost two-thirds of all older Americans, according to a new analysis by The Senior Citizens League. "People who have been receiving Social Security benefits since 2009 - an estimated 64 percent of all beneficiaries - have been hit with the full brunt of extremely low COLAs over the past nine years," says The Senior Citizens League's Social Security policy analyst Mary Johnson. "Nine years is about one third the length of a typical retirement," Johnson points out. "Younger retirees since 2009 are also feeling the pain," she notes..Another critical step toward lowering costs is giving Medicare the power to negotiate prescription drug prices. In December 2019, I helped pass the Lower Drug Costs Now Act with the support of both Democrats and Republicans. This commonsense bill would give Medicare Part D the power to negotiate directly with drug companies. Currently, Medicare is prohibited by law from negotiating for lower prices..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..The federal government negotiates prescription drug prices for Medicaid and for veterans, but it is not allowed to negotiate lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries. Do you support this policy?.So even as this is being written there are reports coming that Congressional leaders are close to a deal on both the legislation to fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year as well as a new coronavirus economic stimulus bill.