Nineteen percent (19%) have postponed filling one or more prescriptions due to quarantine or emergency orders to stay home. .This unexpected policy adjustment is largely attributable to the 6 billion in cuts to Medicare that Obamacare calls for. More than one-fifth of the cuts – approximately 6 billion – are to the Medicare Advantage program, which insures more than one-quarter of all seniors over the age of sixty-five. It's important to note that the savings from the cuts are not going back into the Medicare Trust Fund; instead, the money is going to help pay for the health insurance of younger, working adults under Obamacare. .Representative John Garamendi (CA-3) introduced H.R. 1553 on March 6, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Ways and Means. .Sources: "Issues and Challenges In Measuring And Improving The Quality Of Health Care," The Congressional Budget Office, December 201"What Is Value-Based Healthcare?" NEJM Catalyst, January 1, 201"After Single Payer Failed, Vermont Embarks On A Big Health Care Experiment," Carolyn Johnson, The Washington Post, September 17, 2017. .The government negotiates prescription drug prices for veterans and Medicaid beneficiaries, but it is barred from negotiating lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries. As a result, seniors enrolled in Part D often pay much higher prices than other Americans for their prescription drugs. What are you doing to correct this unfair policy? .TSCL's legislative team will be monitoring the tax reform discussions closely in the coming days and weeks, and we will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website, as well as on Facebook and Twitter. In the meantime, we encourage our supporters to contact their Members of Congress to request their opposition to tax reform measures that will jeopardize the health and financial security of older Americans. For contact information, click HERE. .Republicans and Democrats across the ideological spectrum agree that the payment system must be repealed and that the rate of growth in health care spending in the United States is unsustainable. But, even with strong bipartisan support, political hurdles still remain. I believe we must set aside politics and work together to enact a fiscally responsible and permanent solution to solve this problem. We owe it to American seniors to end this perennial threat to Medicare once and for all. .This week, the Senate's Gang of Eight was busy defending its comprehensive immigration reform plan, and The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) saw two key bills gain support. .(Washington, DC) – Consumer price index data through August 2021 indicates that the 2022 COLA will likely be about 6 percent. But soaring inflation this year has deeply eroded the buying power of Social Security benefits, according to a new update to an ongoing inflation study by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). The study, which compares the growth in the Social Security cost of living adjustments (COLA)s with increases in the costs of goods and services typically used by retirees found that, since 2000, Social Security benefits have lost 32 percent of their buying power.