Are You Spending Too Much on Your Medicare Coverage? 2022 Social Security COLA Likely to be 6 to 6.1% Older Consumers Report Food as Fastest Growing Cost in 2021 Update: Social Security COLA For Next Year Could Be 6.2% Congressional Inaction Could Cost Thousands in Social Security, Says New Analysis From The Senior Citizens League The "Medicare Tax" That Never Made It To The Medicare Trust Fund 88 Percent Of Older Adults Want Medicare To Negotiate Drug Prices Social Security Buying Power 62% of Retirees Think Social Security COLA Needs a Minimum Guarantee of 3% Retirees Spent Less on Healthcare Costs in 2020 .Initial Coverage Period: During this stage of coverage you pay a co-pay or co-insurance of 25% of the cost of covered drugs, and the plan pays 75%, up to a total of ,005 (beneficiary) and ,015 (plan). This includes any applicable deductible. Your plan's full retail drug cost, not your co-pay, is what counts toward entering the coverage gap. Your co-pays or True Out-of-Pocket costs (TrOOP) count toward exiting the coverage gap and qualifying for catastrophic coverage. .In 2016, when there was no COLA increase, those people protected by "hold harmless" paid the same premium that they did in 2015, 4.90. Part B premiums rose to 1.80 per month. In 2017 with just a 0.3 percent COLA, Medicare Part B premiums were once again adjusted downward so that the increase in an individuals' Part B premium did not reduce their Social Security benefit. Because the amount of their COLA was so it left most people who were held harmless paying a monthly premium of roughly 0 or less. .Johnson says that the federal government is looking at the wrong market basket to determine the annual change in prices in the goods and services used by retired and disabled Americans. According to Johnson, had the government used a more appropriate inflation index that measures costs experienced by people age 62 and older, the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), retirees would get a COLA of 2.1 percent instead of 0.3 percent in 201"But instead, the COLA is based on the increased price of goods normally purchased by younger working adults," she notes. .TSCL has serious concerns about several of the provisions in the AHCA, including the tax cut that would endanger the Medicare program. As discussions continue to advance the bill, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) will continue to monitor them, and we will advocate on Capitol Hill for policies that would protect the Medicare Trust Fund while reducing out-of-pocket costs for older Americans. For progress updates, follow TSCL on Facebook or Twitter. .Support Grows for Key Bill .To qualify for special enrollment in a Marketplace plan, your husband will need to select a plan within 60 days after losing his job-based coverage. If you need coverage in the time between losing job-based coverage and beginning coverage through a Marketplace plan, your husband may want to continue COBRA coverage from his former employer's plan. He should learn more about his special enrollment period, and coverage at www.HealthCare.gov or by calling 1-800-318-2596. .Changes in your earnings: Did you report increases in salary or commissions? You need to keep Social Security informed of higher earnings in order for your benefits to be accurately withheld. .Lawmakers Work to Avoid Government Shutdown