Although Congress has often enacted "clean bill" debt limit increases, and may do so again, lawmakers have also paid for increases with other types of changes, including changes to Social Security and Medicare. In a 2015 debt limit deal, Congress ended a benefit claiming option that was one of the few ways married couples could maximize their benefits. The change affected some people who were already 62 and entitled to benefits. It cost those affected, thousands in Social Security income that they were depending on getting. .Medicare Part B enrollees who don't receive Social Security benefits. This includes people who have delayed the start of Social Security benefits, and all people who are billed for Medicare. According to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation, in 2013, about half of all people on Medicare who don't yet receive Social Security had incomes below ,000. .TSCL is closely watching for the introduction of proposals to strengthen Social Security and Medicare benefits and program financing. While financing issues for both programs are daunting, we believe that funding for both can be strengthened without deep benefit cuts. "Increasing benefits for all" was a key platform plank for the majority of the Representatives in the House, roughly half the Senate, and, our President elect. In coming months, TSCL plans to hold the lawmakers accountable for how they plan to turn this promise into reality for older Americans. .The TSCL survey found that, to improve Medicare's finances, seniors strongly support ramping up anti-fraud efforts, and better integration of care to reduce duplications of tests, services, and expensive imaging. What do you think? Take a poll. Visit TSCL's website at . .These bills would enable retired school teachers, university employees and thousands of civil servants to receive all of the Social Security pensions for which they are entitled. A Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) have long limited the full aid that these beneficiaries merit. .Budget Committee Debates Future of DI Program .Also putting pressure on the program, TSCL anticipates that more people will file claims for benefits. While employment was at record levels just a few months ago, many older adults postponed filing for benefits to allow their Social Security payouts and retirement accounts to grow. Now, faced with paid sick leave and unemployment benefits ending, older workers are unlikely to be able to afford to wait to file for benefits if they have lost their jobs. In addition, workers lucky enough to have 401(k)s and IRAs have experienced significant losses in the value of those retirement accounts and will be depending on Social Security all the more. Big changes in equity prices reduce the distributions from those accounts. .According to a report in The Hill newspaper, "House Democratic leaders are intent on including a measure that would allow the secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs, sources say." .Although it hasn't been introduced as legislation yet, some specifics were outlined in a fact sheet released by the group. Under the plan, the government would pay for three-quarters of the cost of the average plan, and for the most expensive enrollees, it would pay ninety percent of the cost. Wealthy seniors would pay a larger share of the cost, and low-income seniors would receive assistance from Medicaid. In addition, the age of eligibility would increase by three months each year, until it hits seventy in 2034.