New research, however, suggests that Medigap substantially increases Medicare spending, because seniors with the policies are insulated from costs. Those with polices tend to receive more medical care than people who are required to pay some or all of the costs of their care out-of-pocket. According to the CBO, a 2010 study found that Medicare beneficiaries responded to increases in their cost sharing by reducing visits to physicians and use of prescription drugs.[2] "Making seniors pay higher initial Medigap cost-sharing affects both senior budgets, and senior health — especially if seniors forego necessary care," Cates notes. .But bigger deficit reduction would be possible if Social Security taxes were made more equitable. Under current law, high-income earners — people with earnings higher than Social Security's taxable maximum of 7,000— pay nothing on earnings over that amount. In other words, someone earning ,117,000 pays no Social Security taxes on the one million above 7,000. Yet workers earning less than 7,000 pay Social Security taxes on every dime of their wages. The CBO estimates that simply raising the taxable maximum to 7,500 would bring in 0 billion in new Social Security revenues through 202Taxing all earnings would eliminate up to 90 percent of Social Security's funding problems. .The Social Security Subcommittee of the House Committee on Ways and Means held a hearing to discuss the problems facing seniors and the vital roll Social Security plays in the well-being of America's seniors. .However, taking this action would cause at least two difficulties for the President. Signing legislation to reduce Medicare spending on the drugs would generate official budget savings that Congress could have applied to other health-care legislation -- bills to expand insurance coverage or reduce other drug spending, for example. Executive action taken before a bill's passage would remove a key bargaining chip, and likely reduce the scope of a health-care bill expected in the coming months. .More than 50% of older households surveyed by the National Institute on Aging say that they have at least one adult child living within 10 miles. But retirement housing and care plans can go awry when an adult child needs to relocate — most often because of a job. .TSCL is working to convince Congress to enact a bill that provides an emergency COLA. The organization supports the Seniors and Veterans Emergency (SAVE) Benefits Act (S. 2251, H.R. 4144), which would provide Social Security beneficiaries with a one-time emergency COLA of 3.9 percent. For the average retiree, the emergency COLA would amount to around 0 dollars. To learn more, visit . .Benefit Bulletin: September 2021 Most Look Forward to Boost; Low-Income Retirees Worry Benefits Could be Trimmed .Because of the advanced ages of Notch Babies, the cost of correcting the Notch is falling every day. TSCL estimates (in 2006) that the cost of Notch Reform would be about billion, or slightly less than .75 billion per year over the next four years. The billion could be financed without taking additional money from the Social Security Trust Fund. This could be done through cutting wasteful pork barrel spending and reducing fraud and abuse in government programs. In fiscal year 2006 alone, lawmakers spent about billion in pork-barrel projects (8). That doesn't include what the government lost to improper payments, fraud, and abuse. The Government Accountability Office estimated that for fiscal year 2005 government agencies improperly spent more than billion (9). .TSCL continues to work with Members of Congress for stronger protections of Social Security. TSCL supports legislation that would ban the payment of benefits based on illegal work — H.R. 787, "No Social Security for Illegal Immigrants Act," introduced by Representative Dana Rohrabacher (CA-46), and S.95, legislation to prevent Social Security credit from being earned without legal status, introduced by Senator David Vitter (LA).