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TSCL is also highly concerned that the candidates are not talking enough about protecting the annual COLA from cuts. During the recent 2011 debt limit talks with House Speaker John Boehner, President Obama floated a debt reduction plan that would have reduced government spending annual increase by using the chained Consumer Price Index to calculate the COLA..Congress Passes Defense Bill but President Trump says He Will Veto.Lawmakers Adjourn for Week-Long Recess.Walden tried to include in previous coronavirus legislation an agreement he and Pallone struck with Sen. Lamar Alexander late in 2019 designed to end "balance billing" practices and cap some out-of-network charges insured patients faced when seeking emergency room care. Senate leaders decided against including this provision in any of the three bills that cleared Congress, according to reports..Social Security benefits have lost 34 percent of buying power since 2000, according to the 2018 Social Security Loss of Buying Power Study recently released by The Senior Citizens League. This is the biggest loss of buying power recorded since 2012, and that was the biggest loss that The Senior Citizens League's study has recorded to date..The 2018 findings represent a substantial 4 percent loss in Social Security benefit buying power from January 2017 through January 201The loss deepened from 30 percent in 2017 to 34 percent in 201Of the thirty-nine costs analyzed in the study, twenty-six exceeded the percentage increase in the COLA over the 2000 to 2018 period..People who don't have their premiums deducted from Social Security payments, including those still working and who haven't started Social Security yet..Roughly one - half of all retiree households report that a portion of their Social Security benefits are subject to taxation, according to recent survey results from The Senior Citizens League. "This is a tax that was estimated to affect just 10 percent of Social Security beneficiaries when it was first enacted in 1983," says Mary Johnson, a Social Security and Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League..A report released by the House Oversight Committee last week said that from 2016 to 2020, the 14 top drug companies spent 7 billion on stock buybacks and dividends. That is some billion more than the amount spent on research and development, the report said.

Medicaid Issue Brief Understanding Medicaid Hospital Payments And The Impact Of Recent Policy Changes

Without an emergency COLA, the financial impact of rising Medicare Part B premiums on beneficiaries is expected to vary significantly. A provision of the Social Security Act known as the "hold harmless" provision guarantees that the Social Security benefits of most seniors and the disabled will NOT be reduced when the Medicare Part B premium increases by more than the amount of that person's COLA. The Part B premiums will therefore be adjusted so that the monthly Social Security benefits of people protected by this provision will not be reduced from one year to the next..After passing new tax legislation that's projected to increase the federal deficit by more than .5 trillion over the next ten years, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell recently blamed Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid for the rapidly increasing deficit. McConnell said the only way to lower the deficit would be to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid..Take minimum required distributions on time. Once you turn age 70 ½, everyone with a traditional IRA must begin taking required minimum distributions. Failure to do so results in a tax penalty equal to 50% of the required distribution amount. … Continued

Thrive The Value Of Values Understanding Yours May Help You Find Balance

There's not much time to head off this situation. We can't let Congress think they can shrug and look the other way again this time. A 2.5% COLA is the amount that the Congressional Budget Office estimated beneficiaries would get in 2021, and those funds are already factored into the Social Security spending projections for 2021..A person receiving the national average Social Security benefit in 2000 - 6 per month - would have ,226.60 per month by 201However, because retiree costs are rising at a substantially faster pace than the COLA, that individual would require a Social Security benefit of 7.90 more per month, or ,634.50 in 2019, just to maintain his or her 2000 level of buying power..TSCL believes that Social Security and Medicare remain at high risk of major changes that would cut benefits and continues to meet with Members of Congress and their staffs. The COLA is particularly vulnerable due to the size of the reduction in the deficit it would have - both by cutting federal spending and boosting tax revenue. The next election will be one of the most critical in years for both retirees and older Americans within ten years of retirement. TSCL urges you to ensure that you and your family are registered and ready to vote this November! … Continued