Still, COLA cuts remain a key proposal of major debt reduction plans. In his budget last year, President Obama proposed changing the way COLAs are calculated by using a more slowly-growing measure of inflation, known as the "chained" CPI. "If our nation is going to correct income inequality, it should start with payroll taxes," Cates says. "Under current law, millionaires pay no Social Security taxes at all on earnings over 7,000, while average workers pay Social Security taxes on every dime they earn," Cates points out. "Cutting the benefits of financially vulnerable seniors and others can't be justified when millionaires are getting a multibillion dollar tax break," Cates asserts. "TSCL urges President Obama NOT to use Social Security COLAs to cut the debt," he adds. .Case 1—A woman who was born in Mexico worked illegally under an invalid SSN for 6 years. Later when she received a work authorized SSN, she had the earlier wages, earned while illegal, transferred to her record and then filed for Social Security disability benefits. From 1999 to 2002 this woman collected approximately ,990 in disability benefits, including benefits for dependents based on her account. Estimated benefits over 20 years — 4,275. .This year, The Senior Citizens League has heard from supporters like never before about some extreme costs of prescription drugs. One supporter told us she pays ,800 for a three-month supply of insulin as a type 2 diabetic. She said: "I do not have that kind of money! My doctor has been giving me samples to keep me afloat but I cannot expect him to do that forever … I will have to sell my house to pay for insulin." .Fortunately, H.R. 3 is not the only legislation in either house of Congress that could lower drug prices and accomplish the other things necessary to fix Medicare and Social Security. .Because of the huge demand various brands of sanitizers started appearing in stores that we had not seen before. Then we were alerted that some of those that were made in Mexico contained methanol, a form of alcohol that's poisonous to humans, and we should not use them. .This week, one new cosponsor – Rep. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (MP) – signed on to the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E) Act (H.R. 1030), bringing the total up to twenty. If signed into law, the CPI-E Act would base the Social Security COLA upon the spending patterns of seniors. Currently, it's based upon the way young, urban workers spend their money – a method that underestimates the spending inflation that seniors experience each year. .TSCL recently released an analysis of the proposal that estimates the chained CPI would cut the growth in average benefits of ,100 today by ,634 over the course of a 25-year retirement, and that assumes that the economy becomes more stable soon. The reductions in COLA growth compound over time, and are the deepest when seniors are the oldest and sickest. By the time seniors are in their late 80s or 90s, when they are most likely to have chronic health problems, monthly benefits would be about 5 lower using the chained CPI. .What can you do? .Understand which type works best for you. Medicare supplemental or Medigap premiums currently tend to be higher, often by hundreds of dollars, than those of Medicare Advantage Plans. In fact, there are Medicare Advantage Plans that offered hospital, doctor, and prescription drug coverage for This is especially important new research at a time when Social Security faces potential changes. President Obama's "National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform" is scheduled to release its plan to cut the federal deficit by December 1st. .Sources: "How Much ‘Skin In The Game' Is Enough?", Kaiser Family Foundations, June 201"Measuring Price Change For Medical Care In The CPI," Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed March 3, 2012. .Second, in October, Congress passed legislation to strengthen Social Security's Disability Insurance (DI) program. Many of the recommendations that TSCL made to the House Ways and Means Committee back in August were signed into law, including provisions that will ramp up fraud prevention and test new work incentives for beneficiaries. Most importantly, the law prevents a 20 percent benefit cut that was scheduled to hit 11 million disabled beneficiaries in December 201A cut of that size would have been truly devastating for enrollees, and TSCL applauds Members of Congress for averting it. .The House-Senate conference committee reached a deal this week to extend the payroll tax break and unemployment benefits, and prevent a 27% pay cut to Medicare physicians. The agreement came after months of debate and only after Republicans dropped their requirement that the payroll tax extension be offset by spending cuts. .One of the concerns last fall and winter was knowing whether someone might have the seasonal flu, a cold, or the coronavirus. As it turned out, seasonal flu was almost non-existent, and colds were also way down. .Congressman Bill Pascrell (D- N.J.) was very blunt when he said that all the talk about fixing Social Security is just platitudes. While both sides of the aisle know it needs to be fixed and say they want to fix it, nothing is really being done. ."We've always known that vaccines are very important to our overall health," reported Maria Carrillo, chief science officer of the Alzheimer's Association. "And maybe they even contribute to protecting our memory, our cognition, our brain." .Beginning in 2017, monthly premiums for Part B and Part D would increase by fifteen percent for those with higher incomes. If the plan were adopted, the income threshold would drop from ,000 to ,000, and it would not be adjusted for inflation until one-quarter of all Medicare beneficiaries qualify to pay the increased premiums. .Working longer, especially if you are earning more now than you did in jobs in the past, can also help increase your benefit because the Social Security Administration uses your highest 35 years of earnings to calculate your initial retirement amount. If you've worked less than 35 years, then the extra years of work will help fill in the earning gaps in your record. premiums in 200Don't let the lure of zero premiums fool you, because you will pay in other ways, especially if you get sick.