On Thursday evening, lawmakers in the House and Senate voted to pass a continuing resolution (CR) that will fund the federal government until Friday, December 22nd. TSCL is pleased that lawmakers successfully averted a government shutdown since failing to do so could have impacted the timely delivery of Social Security benefits. Physicians and other medical providers also could have seen delays in their reimbursements from the Medicare program if the federal government had shut down. .Medicare does not usually cover eyeglasses or contact lenses. However, Medicare Part B helps pay for corrective lenses when the patient has cataract surgery to implant an intraocular lens. Corrective lenses include one pair of eyeglasses with standard frames or one set of contact lenses. .TSCL has been successful in gaining co-sponsors for legislation to address Notch reform. The Notch Fairness Act, introduced in House and Senate by Representative Mike McIntyre (NC-17) and Senator David Vitter (LA) would provide Notch Babies born 1917 through 1926 their choice of ,000 paid in four annual installments, or an improved monthly benefit. As of June 30, seventeen Members of Congress had signed on as co-sponsors. One new cosponsor said he was signing on to The Notch Fairness Act in honor of his father a Notch baby who recently passed away. .65 million Americans currently rely on Social Security benefits, yet many still struggle just to make ends meet, to the shame of the nation, millions have worked all their lives, paid into a system, and receive a below poverty line check from Social Security. .Finally, locality pay is subject to the approval of the President, and thus subject to politics. In 2019, the average locality pay adjustment was 0.5%. The annual COLA was 2.8%. The calculation has also been challenged by economists and the nonpartisan CBO as not being accurate. What do you think about using locality pay adjustment rates to adjust Social Security? To send a comment or take a poll on this topic visit . .The Senior Citizens League favors legislation that would adjust the thresholds, or repeal the tax altogether and replace it with other sources of revenue. If the thresholds were adjusted to today's dollars the ,000 (single) threshold would be about ,107 and the ,000 (joint) would be about ,097. .My prescription for Lantus and blood pressure medicine has skyrocketed recently. When I called Humana, they said they are dealing with Covid-19, and costs have increased. The new price is at a level that makes it impossible for me to afford the medicine I need. I don't know what to do now. Any help is appreciated. — Robert N. FL .This week, one new cosponsor – Rep. Robert Scott (VA-3) – signed on to Rep. Peter DeFazio's (OR-4) Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E) Act (H.R. 1030). The cosponsor total is now up to ten. If signed into law, Rep. DeFazio's bill would base the Social Security COLA upon the spending patterns of seniors. Currently, it is based upon the way young, urban workers spend their money – a method that underestimates the spending inflation that seniors experience. A study conducted by TSCL in 2012 found that seniors have lost 34 percent of their purchasing power since 2000 – a clear sign that the current COLA is growing too slowly. .Single taxpayers with more than one job.