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Legislation to help "Notch Victims" is Introduced.More people than ever face a lower standard of living in retirement, according to a growing number of troubling new studies. There are several reasons why this is occurring:.Given the importance, changes to Social Security should ideally be made only after a full and open debate, separate from the debt limit negotiations. Any changes should be kept as small as possible and phased in over the longest possible period, and they should not affect people who are currently over 50 years of age..The so-called "cromnibus," as many on Capitol Hill are calling it, seems to be a compromise that most lawmakers will be able to accept. However, some have been outspoken about their opposition since it does not include a policy rider that would explicitly prohibit the funding of the President's executive orders. Sen. Ted Cruz, stated this week: "Congress should stand up and use the power of the purse to say we will fund the operation of the government but we will not allocate taxpayer dollars to lawless and illegal amnesty.".Prescription Drug Re-Importation Making safe, secure re-importation a reality..As was noted in last week's update, the AHCA would reform the current health system and negatively impact older Americans in several ways. It would restructure the Medicaid program, which funds nursing home care for many qualified Medicare beneficiaries. It would base premium subsidies on age instead of income, while allowing private health insurers to charge older Americans five times more than they charge younger folks for their coverage. And it would deplete Medicare's Hospital Insurance Trust Fund by eliminating two revenue sources that the ACA created, creating a funding crisis for the program..John, age 66, is already enrolled in Medicare in 200He pays .40 per month. Because there is no COLA, and the basic Medicare Part B increases, his Part B premium will remain .40 because he's protected by the hold harmless provision. His premium will be adjusted to prevent a reduction in his Social Security in 20His wife Jane is 6She's not eligible to enroll in Medicare Part B until 20Her monthly premium would be an estimated 4 instead of .40. She won't have "hold harmless" protection until 2011..The Social Security Disability Insurance trust fund is projected to become depleted next year, in 201What do you feel should be done to restore this program's solvency?.TSCL Endorses New Social Security Bill