Tax Plan Moves to Conference Committee .When the Office of Inspector General matched the 6.5 million Social Security numbers against the Social Security Administrations file, it found 67,000 of the numbers were used to report wages for people other than the cardholders, a sign the numbers were used for illegal work. According to the Associated Press, one Social Security number was used 613 different times. An additional 194 numbers were used at least 50 times each. .The Board of Trustees for Social Security and Medicare recently released a bombshell of a report that shows this essential health safety net is coming apart at the seams. The report estimates the Medicare trust fund will run dry in 2024, five years earlier than last year's estimate, and went on to explain, "The fund is not adequately financed over the next ten years." In an alternate estimate also released, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Chief Actuary Rick Foster painted an even more dire picture, reporting that Medicare's unfunded obligations could be significantly higher, and long-term costs could dramatically increase from the numbers provided in the Board of Trustee's report. .In addition, if any efforts to transition to private accounts based Social Security succeed TSCL fears that, among other things, a new Notch could be created in the transition. Also, TSCL members generally believe that such approaches could further drain the Social Security Trust Fund. Finally, it is thought that a private accounts venture would be at least partially financed by cutting the benefits of current or soon-to-be retirees. Because TSCL believes that Social Security was developed and implemented to be a safety net, insurance and pension system, it strongly opposes changes to the current system which entail private accounts. .An extremely low COLA (including the 1.3% that we are forecasting for 2021) could trigger a special provision of law that can cause Part B premiums to spike. That's especially true when combined with the higher than forecast Medicare outlays due to COVID-19, and the need to replenish program reserves. .Last July 24 President Trump announced his intention to sign four executive orders regarding prescription drugs, including one that would tie the cost of drugs in the US to drug prices in other countries. At the same time, he said he would delay signing the order and give pharmaceutical companies, which have vigorously opposed such a move, time to come up with their own plan to lower drug prices. .We had no way to tell how much worse these scams were about to become. As a result of this pandemic, our legislative efforts must evolve just as these scams have. .According to the Inspector General's report, of the 6.5 million active numbers, the Social Security Administration had issued payments to 266 of the number holders, but a review found that only 13 people were likely to be still alive and collecting benefits. In addition to the problem of payments to the dead, the balance of the 6.5 million active numbers pose a risk because they could be stolen to claim fraudulent tax refunds and to work illegally. The IRS has estimated that it paid out .8 billion in fraudulent tax refunds in 2013 because of identity theft. .In addition, when lawmakers return to Capitol Hill on Monday to begin the lame-duck session, TSCL will keep a close eye on the evolving budget negotiations. Lawmakers have until December 9th to negotiate legislation to keep the federal government operating. Should they fail to miss the looming deadline, the federal government will shut down like it did back in 2013, and Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries could see negative impacts. For progress updates from Capitol Hill, visit the Legislative News section of our website, or follow TSCL on Twitter.