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TSCL hopes that most of these people who lost SNAP benefits at least received emergency stimulus payments in 2020 and 2021 to help cover the loss of these benefits. But we are highly concerned that a high COLA could have similar unintended consequences for low income retirees in 2022..We must ensure benefits earned are benefits maintained. That's why I am proud to cosponsor H.R. 141, bipartisan legislation to eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset in our last Congress. The WEP and GPO unfairly penalize workers who paid into Social Security and earned benefits in addition to receiving a public pension through other work..For seniors - many of whom are on fixed incomes - these skyrocketing prices are unsustainable. Astronomical drug prices are forcing seniors to make daily choices between the medication they need to stay healthy and other necessities such as food, transportation, and housing costs. This is unacceptable..This week, lawmakers continued working towards an omnibus spending bill to fund the federal government through the remainder of the fiscal year..In an ideal world, prior authorization is supposed to deter patients from receiving care that is not truly medically necessary, thus reducing costs for insurers and out-of-pocket costs of enrollees. But prior authorization is sometimes misused to create barriers to getting care, or to even deny medically necessary care. Regardless of how prior authorization is used, it creates extra administrative hassles for physicians when they have to file the documentation to obtain the authorization..The deduction is especially important to people age 65 and over, since spending on medical expenses increases with age, and healthcare costs can be considerable. About 23 percent of participants in The Senior Citizens League's 2018 Senior Survey said they routinely itemize medical expenses. A recent report from the non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation says that Medicare households spent on average ,355 in 2016 on healthcare costs that Medicare doesn't cover. That's equivalent to ,700 in 2018 adjusting for inflation..adequate income, especially if you live to your 80's or 90's..With regard to your specific concerns on Social Security COLAs, as you are fully aware, after a person becomes entitled to receive Social Security benefits, his or her monthly benefit was designed to increase annually to maintain purchasing power over time. The amount of the COLA is based on inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index. If the CPI rises, Social Security benefits for the next year increase proportionately. If the CPI falls, Social Security benefits stay the same. Like you, I too have long been critical of this formula that measures the level of inflation in our economy because older Americans have different needs than the "typical" American. In addition, the current CPI fails to adequately reflect the fact that seniors rely more on medical goods and services, which have a much higher inflation rate..It is possible there could also be another emergency spending bill or, as we reported above, even a full-blown stimulus to try and keep the economy going.