This week, The Senior Citizens League was pleased to see support grow for three key bills that would strengthen and protect the Social Security and Medicare programs. .Sources: Statement: Social Security Payments Go Paperless, Honorable Patrick P. O'Carroll, Jr., Inspector General, Social Security Administration, June 19, 2013. .The last vaccine to quell a global viral scourge was the polio inoculation, which ended outbreaks that killed thousands and paralyzed tens of thousands each year in the United States. The March of Dimes Foundation covered the nominal drug cost for a free national vaccination program. .At the same time, prices for generic drugs were slightly lower in the U.S. than in most other nations. Specifically, the U.S. spent an average of The new effort could be part of a second package later this year and TSCL will closely examine the legislation once it is finally developed to see if it accomplishes our goals and whether we can support it. .The Notch Fairness Act, which was introduced by Rep. Mike McIntyre (NC-7) in March, would provide compensation to Notch babies, or those born between the years 1917 and 192Just years before they were set to retire, these individuals learned that they would have significantly lower benefits than they originally anticipated. TSCL feels that this is an inequity that was brought about because of the Social Security Act Amendments enacted and signed into law in 1977. .Home delivery is best suited for "maintenance" drugs, the type you take every day over the long term. You will still need to continue to use your drug plan's "preferred" retail pharmacies if you need a short-term or one-time prescription like an antibiotic. .Since enactment 84 years ago, Social Security has been the most reliable source of retirement income that most retirees have. That said, our current Social Security program has a funding imbalance that's creeping forward. In 2018 the Congressional Budget Office reported that Social Security's total benefit costs exceeded its total income, including (for the first time) the "interest" income on the special obligations bonds, or I.O.U.s that are held by the trust fund. According to the Social Security Trustees, from here forward, Social Security benefits will be financed with a combination of payroll taxes, revenues from the taxation of Social Security income, "interest" income from the special obligation bonds, and net redemptions of those bonds, until the reserves held from the Trust Funds are depleted. .Last year the House of Representatives, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D- Calif.), passed major drug legislation that would have allowed the government to negotiate directly with the drug companies, thus bringing the prices of drugs down. The major drug companies, and then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), opposed the legislation and would not allow the House-passed legislation to even be considered. .In the meantime, TSCL will be keeping a close eye on the budget negotiations since they will impact the funding of the Social Security and Medicare programs. We will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website, and on our Twitter page. .TSCL was pleased to see four new cosponsors sign on to H.R. 711 this week, and in the months ahead, we will continue to advocate for its passage so that public servants receive the retirement security they have earned and deserve. For updates on the progress of H.R. 711, follow TSCL on Twitter, or visit the Legislation News section of our website. .TSCL is interested in hearing your comments on this issue, and whether you have ever been forced to use mandatory arbitration to resolve a disagreement. If so, did the outcome satisfy you? Please send us an email. .How much would chaining the COLA cost you? Use TSCL's new Chained COLA Cut Calculator to calculate your loss. .84 cents for a generic that would have cost an average of elsewhere, according to the report from RAND Corporation, a nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization. .We will get through this. .Implementing Medicaid cuts is proving even harder than getting the cuts enacted into law. In Connecticut for example, the state General Assembly recently voted overwhelmingly to reverse healthcare program cuts that they had passed just a few months before. Connecticut's 2017 budget agreement lowered the Medicaid program's income eligibility limits last year. The cuts, originally planned to go into effect January 1, would have kicked an estimated 86,000 older and disabled people off Medicare Savings Programs which pays Part B premiums and out -of - pocket costs, and moved another 27,000 to a second level of the program that provides less financial assistance. But, by January 8, 2018, the cuts were reversed by an overwhelming 130-3 vote, despite lingering concerns over financing. .Fifth, one new cosponsor – Representative Steve Cohen (TN-9) – signed on to the Nursing Home CARE Act (H.R. 4704), bringing the total up to twenty-five. If adopted, H.R. 4704 would protect Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries by more quickly codifying emergency preparedness rules for nursing home facilities that receive funding from the federal government. .With reconciliation, Democrats can pass a bill without any Republican votes so they are hoping to get a much more comprehensive bill than the Grassley-Wyden one. .(Washington, DC) – Sixty - five percent of retirees participating in a new survey by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) report that their monthly household expenses in 2020 rose by more than . That includes 40 percent of survey participants who reported that their monthly household expenses are up by 0 or more. Yet the same survey also found that 63 percent of participants indicated that their 2021 COLA, which was 1.3 percent, raised their net monthly Social Security benefit by less than after the deduction for the Part B premium.