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Congressman John Garamendi, the sponsor of the bipartisan CPI-E Act, recently said: "Using a Consumer Price Index that actually reflects how retirees spend their money especially in health care is a no-brainer that will increase benefits and make Social Security work better for the people it serves.".But our fight to protect seniors doesn't stop there. My bill also ends the nonsensical practice of "double taxation" on Social Security benefits for middle class seniors. Currently, many seniors pay taxes when they receive their Social Security benefits, even though they were taxed to create those benefits throughout their working lives. That's wrong! Providing a tax cut to middle class seniors while increasing the sustainability of Social Security is something everyone in Congress can and should agree on.."In the event that you have the choice to get vaccinated, I'd encourage you to take the vaccine that you're given," John Brooks, the chief medical officer of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Covid-19 response, said at a briefing Friday.".Medicare's annual Part D Open Enrollment. Case in point: My client had.Yes, unfortunately this is correct. Under current law Social Security benefits are not payable for the month in which a beneficiary dies. This is so even when the beneficiary, like your husband, passes away on the last day of the month. However, according to the Social Security Administration the check that an individual receives in a given month is the payment for the preceding month. That means the check that your husband received during the month of March was his benefit for February, which you would be entitled to keep. It is the March payment that you would have received in April, and any thereafter that must be returned..In reality, there's no need to cut or privatize Social Security in order to assure its solvency. Social Security could pay its full promised benefits for decades to come if we simply asked all Americans to pay their fair share of FICA taxes. Here's the deal: Ninety- four percent of American workers pay into Social Security all year long on every dollar they earn. The wealthiest six percent do not. They stop paying after their income hits the 8,500 cap. For people taking home million or more, that arrives just six weeks into the year. Some even finish paying just after New Year's Day. This gaping loophole allows billionaire hedge fund managers and corporate CEOs to pay a far lower percentage of their income into Social Security than teachers, police officers and healthcare workers..Medicare considers observation care as outpatient services, even though patients may stay in the hospital for several days. Outpatient care is covered under Medicare Part B not under Part A, which normally covers hospital care. Patients can have co-payments for doctor's fees, and every hospital service. That includes charges for any routine drugs your mother may take for chronic conditions like high cholesterol..Compounding the problem, it's also common for people close to retirement to underestimate medical expenses. Four-out-of-ten participants in the Nationwide survey did not expect to spend any of their Social Security income on healthcare. The Social Security Administration, however, automatically deducts the Medicare Part B premium, which is 4.00 per month in 2018, from Social Security benefits. Medicare Part B premiums have been the fastest rising retiree cost over the past 18 years..The House of Representatives returned from break this week and the Senate will follow suit beginning next week. New co-sponsors have been added to two key bills, and the effort to repeal the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports program moves one step closer.