As with the start of any new Congress, TSCL is encouraging Senators and Representatives to reintroduce and cosponsor key legislation for seniors, like the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act, the Strengthening Social Security Act, the Notch Fairness Act, and the No Social Security for Illegal Immigrants Act. In addition, with comprehensive Medicare and Social Security reform on the minds of many deficit hawks, TSCL is working diligently to prevent harmful cuts that would affect your benefits. .According to The Hill, the legislation would, "… completely change the way the U.S. pays for drugs, saving the federal government more than 6 billion over 10 years, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). .The Grassley-Wyden package would create a rebate system in Medicare Part B and Part D beginning in 2022 for brand-name drugs and biological products with prices that increase faster than inflation. Conservative groups and some Senate Republicans have opposed the rebate system for Part D, the prescription drug benefit program, but not for Part B, the outpatient services program. .This past week, Reps. Jerrold Nadler (NY-8) and Richard Neal (MA-2) signed on to H.R. 1332, the Social Security Fairness Act. The total is now at 14Sen. Tom Udall (NM) signed on to S. 2010, the Social Security Fairness Act, bringing the total to two. .No change to 401(k)s or IRAs: Prior to enactment, concerns were high that tax reform would restrict the amount of pretax contributions working people could make to workplace retirement accounts. Congress did not do this, and the tax rules affecting these accounts, for the most part, remain the same. ."The idea that we would allow ourselves to be held hostage in an emergency is mind-boggling," said David Mitchell, head of Patients for Affordable Drugs, an advocacy group. .Lower prescription drug prices is one of our top priorities and we will continue to fight for them as long as it takes, and for whatever actions it takes to reduce them. .To help older Americans withstand the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and provide more adequate retirement benefits, The Senior Citizens League supports legislation that would provide a boost in Social Security benefits for all retirees, and would tie annual cost of living adjustments to a more representative seniors' consumer price index, the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E). To learn more about efforts to strengthen Social Security benefits, visit . .Here's how the coverage gap works. Once individuals and their Medicare Part D plans spend the initial coverage amount (,310 in 2016) on covered prescription drugs in a calendar year, beneficiaries hit the doughnut hole. Once in the doughnut hole, coinsurance on covered drugs is not only higher, one must also pay a substantial amount out-of-pocket to reach the limit for catastrophic coverage. For brand-name drugs in the coverage gap, individuals are responsible for 45% of the cost, and for generic drugs, they're responsible for 58%. Once out-of-pocket costs for those in the doughnut hole total ,850, catastrophic drug coverage takes effect, and Part D plans pay 95% of prescription drug costs until the calendar year ends.