In 2018, the Part B premium remained 4 per month. To cover that premium, Barbara, whose Part B premium was 8.00, needed a COLA of at least .00. That was more than the 2% COLA boosted her Social Security benefits. Once again her Part B premium was adjusted and in 2018 she pays a Part B premium of 7.00 per month. In 2019 her COLA will be high enough to catch up to the Part B premium of 5.50 and still leave a small boost for her net Social Security benefits. .First, four new cosponsors – Representative Darren Soto (FL-9), Representative Grace Napolitano (CA-32), Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40), and Representative Grace Meng (NY-6) – signed on to the Nursing Home CARE Act (H.R. 4704), bringing the total up to nineteen. If adopted, the bill would protect Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries by more quickly codifying emergency preparedness rules for nursing home facilities that receive funding from the federal government. .This week, TSCL's Board of Trustees traveled to Washington, D.C. for its first meeting of 201The Board of Trustees includes the following members: Edward Cates, Chairman; Charlie Flowers, Vice-Chairman; Arthur Cooper, Secretary; Deborah Oelschig, Treasurer; Michael Gales, PAC Treasurer; and Larry Hyland, Liaison and President of TREThe Enlisted Association. .Offsets Complicate SGR Talks .Representative John Garamendi (CA-3) introduced H.R. 1553 on March 6, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Ways and Means. .The Senior Citizens League sincerely hopes that Members of Congress will responsibly avert the Fiscal Cliff without enacting harsh Social Security and Medicare benefit cuts. As the deadline nears, we will continue to warn lawmakers about the potential threats that benefit cuts would pose. In addition, we encourage you to contact your Members of Congress to request their support for fair cost-of-living adjustments and a temporary "doc fix." To find contact information for your elected officials, click HERE. .Notch Babies receive lower benefits than other seniors near to them in age with similar earnings histories. For example, in 2012, the average benefit of 95-year old Notch Babies was ,31Yet the average benefit of 96-year old seniors was ,390, a monthly difference of Under normal circumstances the benefits of retirees who are younger are usually slightly higher, because wages used to determine benefits tend to increase over time. This is not the case with people born during the Notch period. .In April, more than 150 House lawmakers proposed a budget blueprint that would have reformed the Medicare program and cut Social Security benefits by adopting the "chained" CPI, eliminating the COLA for some seniors, and raising the eligibility age. Did you support this budget blueprint, and if so, why? .And third, one new cosponsor – Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) – signed on to the Social Security 2100 Act (S. 2671), bringing the cosponsor total to two. If adopted, S. 2671 would comprehensively strengthen and reform the Social Security program by basing COLAs on the CPI-E, increasing monthly benefits by 2%, creating a new Special Minimum Benefit equal to 125% of the poverty line, providing a tax cut to Social Security beneficiaries, applying the payroll tax to annual income over 0,000, and gradually increasing the payroll tax rate by 0.25%.