Two Bills Gain Cosponsors.TSCL Announces Support for House Resolution."The Senior Citizens League strongly opposes this effort to overturn Americans' access to health care," Johnson asserts..Congress should enact legislation that would prohibit the use of work credits based on unauthorized earnings from being used to determine entitlement for Social Security benefits..So far critics of the program have not convinced CMS to pare down the size of the demonstrations and states winning approval will get the green light to start shifting patients into managed care plans starting next year..Lawmakers at this week's hearings on both sides of the aisle seemed committed to working together to stabilize the marketplace in the weeks ahead. In total, thirty-one Senators reached out to lawmakers on the HELP Committee to be included in the discussions, and the bipartisan group hopes to have a stabilization plan drafted by next week and signed into law by the end of September. For progress updates, follow TSCL on Facebook or Twitter..We normally try to stay away from items that are covered in the news during the week. There would be no point in sending this out of all we did was repeat what you already know. But this time we have decided we need to talk, at least a little, about the subject that has captured the attention of the major and local news media, and the government this week..The income thresholds for the federal poverty levels are adjusted using a somewhat faster growing index than the one used to determine the COLA. Unlike the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, which does not survey the costs of people over the age of 62, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers CPI-U includes the spending patterns of both younger workers and people over the age of 6Consequently the federal poverty limits increase somewhat faster than the CPI-W and today's COLAs. The 2016 poverty levels reflect a 0.1% increase over 2015 rather than zero like the Social Security COLA..If you were born during the Notch period and receive Social Security benefits based on your work record, or that of a Notch Baby spouse, you have been affected by this inequity from your first Social Security check. According to TSCL studies, this disparity costs you on average about ,000 to as much as ,000 per year in lower benefits.
