President Delivers State of the Union Address .In a January 2017 survey of The Senior Citizens League's members and supporters, 34 percent said they itemize deductions for out-of-pocket healthcare costs most years. One member of The Senior Citizens League – William P. from California – recently contacted us to share his concerns about the elimination of the medical expense deduction. William is home-bound due to several medical conditions, and he relies on home health aides to provide him with lifesaving care on a daily basis. At the age of 61, William is not yet eligible for Medicare and he expects the out-of-pocket cost of his care to total ,000 by the end of this year. The elimination of the medical expense deduction would be a major financial loss for him. .However, right now there is no guarantee Republicans would do that, and instead, it is probable they would blame the Medicare cuts on the Democrats. .Speaker of the House Paul Ryan announced earlier this year that he wants to overhaul entitlement spending. TSCL is concerned that, after the elections, Congress could address rising deficits by moving legislation that would cut Social Security benefits. ."We are here today because of COVID, and its consequences. Consequences that have worsened the inadequacies that have existed for a long time in our Social Security system. .More Veterans Could Get Covid-19 Vaccinations .While the benefit cuts were negotiated in secret and enacted swiftly with virtually no public debate, Congress passed up the opportunity to close another and far bigger Social Security loophole — one that allows people with the nation's highest wages (including all Members of Congress) to get an enormous tax break, while paying Social Security (FICA) taxes on just a fraction of what they earn. In fact, about 6% of all wage earners, according to the Social Security Administration, pay no Social Security taxes at all on earnings over 8,500. Once they have earned 8,500, these workers get to keep 6.2% of every dollar earned over that amount in wages. .A new report has found that millions of senior Americans are missing out on over billion in benefits that help pay for healthcare, prescriptions, food, and utilities. TSCL is concerned that many Notch Babies may be missing out on these benefits that help those with limited income and resources, because they may not realize they are eligible. Many seniors struggle to pay for daily necessities like healthcare, medicine, housing, home energy and food. In addition many of these same older adults have one or more chronic health conditions like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or arthritis resulting in higher healthcare costs and limitations on daily activities. ."The vast majority of prescription drugs [in the U.S.] are for generic, and there, the U.S. does pretty well," says Andrew Mulcahy, PhD, a senior policy researcher at RAND and the lead author of the report. "But for brand-name drugs, we pay much higher."