Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment – Ensure a fair, accurate, and guaranteed COLA. .Seniors have lost almost one-third of their buying power since 2000, according to the 2013 Annual Survey of Senior Costs, conducted by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). TSCL's latest report adds fuel to the heated debate over controversial budget proposals to cut Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). .TSCL enthusiastically supports the five bills listed above and we were pleased to see support grow for them on Capitol Hill this week. For more information, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website. To thank your representative for becoming a cosponsor or to request their support for legislation, visit our "Contact Congress" page. .To fix the program, TSCL also supports an increase in Continuing Disability Reviews, which are conducted to determine whether an enrollee still qualifies for benefits, and an increase in the payroll tax cap, which currently sits at 8,500. We will continue to advocate for these and other long-term solutions that we believe would return the program to solvency responsibly. .Unlike most of the top 10 causes of death, such as heart disease and cancer, which are covered in large part by Medicare, Alzheimer's care comes with extraordinary costs that are not covered. Medicare covers medically necessary inpatient hospital care, doctor's fees, outpatient services such as blood tests, and Part D covers many prescription drugs. However, a dementia diagnosis most often requires custodial care, like help bathing, eating, dressing, and supervision. Medicare does not cover custodial care. .Guarantee a minimum COLA of no less than 3 percent. .TSCL believes this is good news for the Social Security and Medicare systems, but there is no doubt that if the deferred taxes are never re-paid, it will cause major damage to both programs. .Irene is the first to say she wouldn't know where to begin when it comes to figuring out the best deal for her drug coverage. To accomplish this she gets unbiased advice and counseling. Her neighbor, Mary Johnson, is a Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). Johnson, who has assisted seniors to compare and enroll in plans since the start of Part D in 2006, says "the cost differences between plans can be huge - Irene saved about ,276 in 2011 alone." .If signed into law, the Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act would repeal the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula for physician reimbursements, and it would set up a five-year trial period during which the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would test and evaluate new payment and delivery models. TSCL strongly believes that the SGR formula breeds uncertainty in the Medicare program for both physicians and beneficiaries. Many doctors have stopped accepting Medicare patients, and many more are threatening to do so if a permanent solution is not established soon. We believe that Rep. Schwartz's bill would bring increased stability to the Medicare program, and we were pleased to see four new cosponsors announce their support for it this week.