Second, the federal government cannot afford the tax cut, which costs more than 5 billion annually. It is no secret that our nation is deep in debt, and the two-year, two percent tax holiday has not spurred the economy as many hoped it would. TSCL fears that, because of its economic constraints, the federal government's general revenues may not be a reliable source of funding for Social Security. The program is currently facing a billion cash-flow deficit, and an extension of the tax holiday could exacerbate its funding shortfall..With medical costs and prescription drug prices rising higher than ever before, seniors living on fixed incomes are struggling to keep up and can no longer afford to be short-changed by the Social Security COLA. At Wednesday's press conference, Congressman Garamendi said: "Today - March 1st - we declare that something can be done.".Protection of the Social Security Trust Fund Ensuring that the program's assets are locked out of the general budget..Of concern to Social Security recipients, however, are not only what categories and items are included in the CPI, but also whose market basket the government is surveying, and the fairness of the "weight" or estimate of the portion of income they represent that the Bureau of Labor Statistics assigns..That's the case for Ninon Ruscher and her husband John of Tuscon, Arizona, who rely on Social Security for all of their income. Mrs. Ruscher says that, "seniors who rent their own homes are in a precarious financial situation." "Once we pay the monthly bills, we sit at home. We don't have the money to do anything or go anywhere. Once the food runs out we have to wait until our next Social Security payment," she adds. Mrs. Ruscher notes that even though her husband receives health benefits through the Veterans Administration, and she's enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, they are still trying to pay off expenses from her recent surgery earlier this year..After repeated refusals over three and a half years, the federal government has released to TREA Senior Citizens League the first known public copy of the Social Security Totalization Agreement with Mexico. The Social Security Administration recently agreed to make the disclosure in response to a lawsuit filed under the Freedom of Information Act by TSCL..age 65 in 2008 or later)..Ask your doctor for free samples of the new prescription. While the supply may be limited, free samples help you and your doctor assess the effectiveness of a new medication. You will be able to learn how well you respond to the medication and whether you experience any severe side effects..like A.M Best, Moody's, Standard & Poor's or Weiss. You may want to

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The government will announce the 2017 COLA on October 18, 2016 and it remains to be seen whether Congress will take action to protect older Americans and state Medicaid budgets from unexpectedly high Medicare Part B premium costs. In response to similar circumstances last fall, Congress passed legislation that modified the Part B premium spike to the amount it would have increased if the hold harmless provision had not gone into effect..This week, four congressional committees began crafting legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In addition, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a courtesy confirmation hearing to question Congressman Tom Price, the nominee for the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services position..TSCL continues working for enactment of The Notch Fairness Act, which has recently been reintroduced in both the House and Senate. Like an "old age boost" the legislation would provide Notch Babies born from 1917 through 1926 with a choice of ,000 payable in four annual installments of ,250 or an improved monthly benefit. To learn more about The Notch Fairness Act, click here. … Continued

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President Obama's executive actions on immigration would have provided temporary work authorization to more than 4 million undocumented immigrants and with that comes controversial access to Social Security and Medicare, the Congressional Budget Office has said. That access is particularly controversial among older voters, according to surveys by TSCL..TSCL has long supported adding vision, dental and hearing benefits to Medicare, as well as supporting legislation to lower prescription drug prices. We are waiting to see what the final bills look like that come out of the House and Senate before we determine what kind of endorsement to give..According to a recent nation-wide survey conducted by The Senior Citizens League, almost one-third of older taxpayers, 30 percent, say they itemize deductions for healthcare costs, and about 56 percent say that a portion of their Social Security benefits are taxable. "Taxpayers who may be postponing needed medical or dental services, getting glasses, or filling expensive prescriptions may want to consider doing so before the end of the year, in order to maximum the medical expense deduction in 2018," Johnson says. … Continued

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