"Social Security was originally created to lift older Americans out of poverty," Johnson notes. "The annual COLA is intended to prevent erosion in the buying power of benefits," Johnson says. "Between the growth in healthcare costs and flat growth in benefits, the COLA is failing the very people it's intended to protect," she says. .Our legislative team was pleased to see the Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act advance out of the Ways and Means Committee this week, and we will be sure to monitor its progress as it moves to the House floor. Leaders expect it to be taken up during the week of June 15th, and it is expected to pass there with bipartisan support as well. For updates on the status of H.R. 1190, visit the Legislative News section of our website. .Progress Report: Getting Congress On Board For Key Senior Issues .To get your health services through Original Medicare. If you are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, deductibles and co-pays may apply to these preventive services. Check with your plan to see what costs and rules apply. .Source: The Full Retirement Age is Increasing, Social Security Administration, July 23, 20http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/ageincrease.htm .Is Low Cost Dental Insurance A Good Reason to Switch Health Plans? .The entire process is done at the taxpayer's expense. Non-citizens who worked under fraudulent or invalid Social Security numbers, are not penalized. This occurs even though the use of a non-valid fraudulent SSN is in violation of 1988 identity theft laws. The 1988 law made it a federal crime when a person "knowingly transfers or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of Federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable State or local law." (15) .The Senate, where Republicans hold the majority, has yet to make a decision as to whether to defer taxes for its employees. .Social Security Can Be Fixed Without Benefit Cuts