Since the start of the first CPI in 1940, the BLS has made changes to how it calculates price inflation - most recently announcing changes to how they collect price data. A new paper reports that the BLS has undertaken several pilot projects in an attempt to supplement and/or replace its traditional field collection of price data with "alternative sources." If that sounds suspicious, you have good reason to ask questions. The BLS Handbook of Methods lists more than 21 changes that economists have made to how they calculate the CPI since 198In most cases the so-called "improvements" tend to slow the measured rate of inflation. That means the growth in COLAs is cut and Social Security benefits grow more slowly over time. In short, this boils down to an erosion in the buying power of your Social Security benefits when, in reality, prices are actually going up..I recently learned that my ex-spouse passed away due to the coronavirus. He was older than I am, and had already started Social Security. He was getting about ,875 before we divorced. I'm remarried now, but my husband hasn't started benefits. He's only working part time. Would I possibly qualify for Social Security widower's benefits based on my ex-husband's Social Security?.However, TSCL does oppose two provisions that lawmakers included in the package to offset the cost of the 0 billion bill: one provision would increase Medicare Part B and Part D premiums for wealthier seniors, and the second one would create a new 0 deductible for supplemental Medigap plans. Both provisions will require seniors to pay more for their health care, and TSCL feels strongly that seniors should not be required to cover the cost of the poor policy-making decisions that were made by Congress nearly twenty years ago..In 1977 Social Security was going bankrupt because of a flawed benefit formula that raised benefits too quickly. That year Congress passed legislation which changed the way benefits were calculated starting with retirees who were born in 1917 and became eligible for benefits in 197The changes were major and the transition between the old and new method of calculating benefits did not work as anticipated..According to the non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation, in 2020, 99% of Medicare Advantage and drug plans require prior authorization for at least some health services and prescription drugs. Traditional Medicare, on the other hand, does not require prior authorization for the majority of services, but may do so for some Part B drugs administered in doctors' offices, such as chemotherapy treatments. Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans typically use prior authorization for higher cost services, such as inpatient hospital care, high tech diagnostic scans and tests, and more expensive prescription drugs..Based on the result of this poll, The Senior Citizens League has endorsed legislation called the Seniors Have Eyes, Ears, and Teeth Act, a bill introduced by Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard and 131 cosponsors in the House of Representatives. If adopted, H.R. 508 would expand Medicare coverage to include essential hearing, vision, and dental services..At the end of the day:.The Senior Citizens League understands that Social Security beneficiaries today cannot afford any cuts to their benefits. Since 2000 alone, their benefits have lost 23% of their purchasing power. Instead, to improve the financing of the Social Security trust fund, TSCL is urging lawmakers to strengthen the program responsibly without benefit cuts..To do this, Larson's bill would increase the payroll tax rate gradually over 24 years through annual 0.1% increases, and it would also apply payroll taxes to all earnings instead of just the first 7,700.
