Recently a journalist, familiar with my estimates of cost-of-living adjustments, contacted me for my thoughts on the topic. Did I think we were staring down rising inflation? I told him that I needed to see more data..If the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment were based on a more accurate measure of inflation for seniors, beneficiaries would not be receiving a record-low 0.3% increase this year. They would be receiving an increase of 2.1% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Do you support legislation that would base the COLA on a more accurate inflation index like the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly?.Instead, my legislation promotes true market competition, which will both improve the quality of our prescription drugs and lower their price. It helps seniors by making sure generic drug makers can make high-quality, lower-priced prescription medications available sooner. In fact, according to a preliminary analysis by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, this should save consumers and the federal government billions of dollars. That's right, billions with a B..home care after a certain length of time in the hospital..The report added, "Since the first case arrived in the U.S. at the start of the year, medical professionals have gone from fumbling in the dark to better understanding which drugs work -- such as steroids and blood thinners, and the antiviral medicine remdesivir. Allocation of intensive medical resources have improved. And doctors have learned to hold off on the use of ventilators for some patients, unlike with many other severe respiratory illnesses..SSA Announces 2018 COLA.Preventing the "double-dipping" of disability and unemployment benefits, since eligibility for the two programs should be mutually exclusive the DI program is for individuals who are unable to work, and the unemployment program is for individuals who can..Tightening eligibility requirements. Currently, DI applicants must have worked 5 of the past 10 years to be eligible for benefits. Increasing this requirement to 6 of the past 10 years would reduce the number of eligible beneficiaries only slightly and would save up to billion..The COLA as currently calculated is failing to protect the buying power of the beneficiaries for whom it is intended. TSCL supports legislation, the 3% COLA Act, that would ensure a more fair and adequate COLA two ways. It would base the annual boost on an index that more accurately reflects of the costs of older Americans - the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly. In addition, the legislation would require an annual minimum COLA of no less than 3%.
