State Legislatures Magazine Staff Snapshots Virginia J Drew Magazine2021This week, budget conferees released their fiscal 2016 blueprint, and lawmakers in the House voted in favor of it. In addition, The Senior Citizens League announced its support for one new piece of legislation the Protecting and Preserving Social Security Act..This new data strengthens the argument that focusing on negotiating prices for the relatively small number of drugs that make up a disproportionately large amount of Medicare spending could help reduce the costs of prescription drugs to Medicare and the patients who use them..When President Obama announced his massive immigration executive action last fall, a White House fact sheet said the actions would "expand the country's tax base by millions of people and billions of dollars." Then in a plainly self-contradictory statement, the fact sheet goes on to say that many of the 5 million individuals who would be eligible for work authorization and deportation protection "are already in the workforce contributing federal, state, and local taxes. But roughly two-third of them don't pay taxes today." The White House thus implies that executive action would add solvency to the program, because most of the people it affects aren't paying taxes into the program today. … Continued
Services Birth Center Photo TourMedicare Part B premiums were found to be the fastest growing cost for seniors, increasing by 195 percent over the eighteen-year period. Average out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs followed closely behind, increasing by 188 percent. Meanwhile, between 2000 and 2018 the COLA increased Social Security benefits by only 46 percent..A major factor in delaying Social Security is your life expectancy, and the age at which you would come out ahead. Chances are you would be ahead by your early 80s. Average life expectancy for men is 84 and nearly 87 for women, and more people these days are living well into their 90s..TSCL agrees that solvency issues for both programs should be addressed as soon as possible so that any changes may be phased in gradually. However, we do not support increased cost-shifting or harsh benefit cuts for seniors. Both Subcommittees will likely hold more hearings on reforming the two programs in the coming months. TSCL will continue to monitor the ongoing debate. … Continued