We hope this has been a little helpful to you. Certainly, we all need to follow the recommendations of our own doctors and the advice from public health officials about taking commonsense precautions as we go about our daily lives..The Senior Citizens League believes that the on-going Medicare cuts have weakened our ability to respond to national emergencies like COVID-1It has exacerbated a national healthcare worker shortage - including doctors and nurses, as well as the capacity of the nation's hospitals to deal with the sudden large influx of patients generated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many hospitals, doctors' offices, and nursing homes have required additional federal and state assistance as well as donations from the public, to acquire personal protective equipment such as masks, gowns, and gloves..The order that encourages importation of cheaper medicines by states, wholesalers, and pharmacies, is an effort already in the works since last year..Public benefits counseling.Third, the Social Security Fairness Act of 2017 gained two new cosponsors in Representative Bill Posey and Suzanne Bonamici, bringing the cosponsor total to 17If signed into law, H.R. 1205 would repeal the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision two provisions that unfairly reduce the earned Social Security benefits of millions of teachers, police officers, and other public servants each year..The study's findings illustrate the impact on the buying power of Social Security benefits when the economy goes from a period of extremely low inflation to more typical rates of inflation. The last time there was a loss this big was in 2011, another year similar to 2017, when there was no COLA, but inflation spiked. The following year, in 2012, Social Security benefits increased by 3.6%. And like 2012, a higher COLA is likely in 2018..Two powerful Senators from the President's party have also discussed this issue. According to the same report, the number two Republican in the Senate, John Thune of South Dakota has said, "We've got to fix that. It's going to take presidential leadership to do that, and it's going to take courage by the Congress to make some hard votes. We can't keep kicking the can down the road. I hope in a second term, he is interested," Thune said of Trump. "With his leadership, I think we could start dealing with that crisis. And it is a crisis.".This issue gets considerable attention from Members of Congress and the media. These findings are a huge red flag that the standard of living of older Americans is eroding, and this is true not only for lower income households, but for all retirees, because healthcare costs are growing much more rapidly than COLAs. To provide greater retirement security, Social Security benefits need to be boosted, and Medicare cost increases need to be slowed in a way that saves billions without cutting benefits. The Senior Citizens League is supporting the Emergency Social Security COLA for 2021 Act, which would replace the 1.3 percent COLA with a more adequate 3 percent COLA in 202How were you affected by healthcare costs in 2020? Please take our TSCL's 2021 Senior Survey..The report further stated that "Dental care was the most commonly postponed service, with 43% having delayed care. Thirty-six percent put off checkups and treatment for ongoing conditions, while 32% delayed diagnostic screenings.
