But not all beneficiaries are protected by the hold harmless provision. The provision covers about three-quarters of beneficiaries who would not see any change in their basic Part B premiums in 2010, according to the Actuary for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. But one quarter of beneficiaries would face reductions to their monthly Social Security checks as money is deducted to cover the increased Part B premium costs. And although the "hold harmless" provision provides protection from the rising Part B premiums, that provision of law does not apply at all to Part D drug coverage or Part C Medicare Advantage plan premiums. If a person's Part D or Medicare Advantage plan premium goes up, he or she would have less Social Security to live on in 20An emergency COLA, however would offset those costs and prevent those reductions..The Democratic Platform.This may be difficult to believe, but consumer price index data suggests that the annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for 2020 could be close to zero next year - a mere 0.5 percentage point. This comes even as the costs of goods and services used by retirees are shooting upward according to responses to TSCL's 2019 Senior Survey..When you are ready to compare coverage and costs, get a copy of the most recent materials from your current health plan to have on hand. In addition to your current premium and deductible, you will need to know what your current coinsurance or copayments are, and your annual maximum out-of-pocket in order to calculate the "actuarial value" of your plan. To learn whether you qualify and how much credit you will get, contact your state's Health."This is an important perspective to have in our current legislative environment," says Johnson. Some Members of Congress are discussing indexing the COLA to the more slowly growing "chained" consumer price index. "The current index used to calculate the COLA already understates inflation experienced by retired beneficiaries, because it doesn't adequately represent the spending of older consumers," Johnson explains. "A more slowly growing index would only exacerbate the problem of maintaining the buying power of Social Security benefits over time," she says..Following the hearing, The Senior Citizens League submitted a proposal for strengthening and improving the DI program. We recommended the following seven policy changes based on the results of several surveys of TSCL's supporters:.For information about town hall meetings near you during the spring recess, call the local offices of your elected officials. You can find contact information for your Members of Congress right here..Meditation and yogNew research has found that mindfulness meditation can actually change the structure of the brain - in a very protective way. Just a couple of weeks of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction training, developed by the University of Massachusetts' Center for Mindfulness, improves concentration and attention since strong focus of attention is one of the central techniques. Meditation training has long been used as a technique for reducing blood pressure, stress and anxiety and also has helped people quit smoking by learning to "decouple" the state of craving from the act of smoking..The Senior Citizens League continues to monitor the CBO's tax proposal. TSCL supports bills that would reduce the taxation of Social Security benefits while making Social Security payroll taxes more equitable through ensuring that all workers pay their fair share of taxes on all earnings.
