What financial actions have you been forced to take over the past 12 months? Please take TSCL's new Retirement Survey and let us know!.Currently, Social Security COLAs are based on the CPI-W, which tracks the spending patterns of young, urban workers. This index underestimates the inflation that seniors experience since it fails to capture the medical and housing costs that many spend most of their incomes on. TSCL estimates that a CPI for seniors would put the annual COLA at two-tenths of a percentage point higher than the CPI-W. Over the course of a retirement, this would amount to several thousands of dollars more in Social Security benefits..The deduction is especially important to people age 65 and over, since spending on medical expenses increases with age, and healthcare costs can be considerable. About 23 percent of participants in The Senior Citizens League's 2018 Senior Survey said they routinely itemize medical expenses. A recent report from the non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation says that Medicare households spent on average ,355 in 2016 on healthcare costs that Medicare doesn't cover. That's equivalent to ,700 in 2018 adjusting for inflation..I am 92 years old and live on Social Security. I live with my son and his wife so am not hurting too badly. But the rise in health insurance is taking a good-sized chunk of my only source of income. My doctor refused to take the insurance I had, so I was forced into taking what he would accept. I tried to find a different doctor but was refused because NO one is taking patients my age on Medicare. I am a Notch Victim as was my husband. I would like to see the Notch Victims get the proper amount of Social Security due them..On Wednesday, the Social Security and Medicare Trustees released their 2015 reports on the financial outlook of the two programs. At a press briefing, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said: "Today's reports confirm that both Social Security and Medicare are secure today and will remain secure in the years to come. Consistent with previous years, today's reports also show that these programs are facing challenges that need to be addressed.".Which costs are rising fastest for you? Take TSCL's annual Senior Survey, visit..When it comes to the quality of everyday life for seniors, one of the most important variables is access to prescription drugs. Many folks take them every day without a second thought. But what if you could no longer afford these important medications, or, if you had to choose between them and other necessities like food or rent? Even slight price increases can create real financial burdens for many seniors and their families. Unfortunately, the price of prescription drugs has been on the rise over the last several years and that doesn't seem to be slowing down. And a big part of the reason is underhanded collusion by some drug companies themselves. Drug manufacturers have figured out a way to beat the system and guarantee money in their pockets at your expense.."The side effects of the drug, to be sold as Aduhelm by maker Biogen, are troubling and the cost is staggering, at ,000 per year 'forever,' doctors told STAT. More than one-third of trial participants developed brain swelling and 17% to 19% had small bleeds in their brains.".A letter to the editor of The Topeka Capital Journal describes one such case of Medicare's over-compensation problem. The writer said that after receiving a back brace for treatment of spinal stenosis, the local back therapy center billed Medicare ,300. Yet the writer found the same brace from the same manufacturer online for Medicare approved 4 for the brace. The writer said that when he contacted the Medicare fraud unit he was told that 4 was the correct Medicare - approved payment to providers for the brace and was told there was nothing Medicare could do about the over-pricing.
