TSCL believes that the Delay until Fully Functional Act represents a fair solution to the technical problems that the HealthCare.gov website has been experiencing for the past month. Millions of Americans – including seniors under the age of sixty-five – have been unable to purchase insurance coverage through the new marketplace due to the technical glitches. According to the law, those who fail to enroll before March 31st will be faced with a tax penalty of either or 1 percent of income, whichever is higher. ."Higher gasoline and transportation prices in particular are behind the high COLA estimate for 2022, because those expenditures are given greater weight or importance in the consumer price index (CPI) that's used to calculate the COLA. That works to the advantage of retired and disabled beneficiaries for the COLA payable in January of 202That has not been the case for many of the past 12 years when cheap gasoline, and other falling prices dragged down the COLA. Since 2010, COLAs have averaged just 1.4%. Inflation was so low that no COLA was payable at all in 2010, 2011, and 201In 2017 the COLA was almost zero, just 0.3 percentage point. .On Monday, an executive order from President Obama went into effect requiring all federal agencies – including the Social Security Administration (SSA) – to add an additional security measure to all online accounts that contain sensitive personal information. Under the new policy, Social Security beneficiaries must provide a text-enabled cellphone number when logging in to their online accounts. The two-step authorization process requires them to enter a temporary security code sent to them via text message before they can access their online information. .Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (AL) told reporters this week that a government shutdown later this month is a real possibility. He said: "This could make us all come together or it could drive us further apart. We don't know yet … I've been here on Christmas Eve." .The 2017 COLA will likely be 0.3 percent says Mary Johnson, a Social Security policy analyst and researcher for TSCL. "And there's a chance that lower gas prices will drag the COLA down even further, to 0.2 percent," Johnson adds. Either way, the 2017 COLA is expected to raise Social Security benefits by only a few dollars, and any increase will be completely offset by stiff increases in the Medicare Part B premium for most people 65 and over. .Nearly 50 years ago, we made a promise to ensure quality, affordable healthcare for all American seniors. In order to protect that promise, we must promote excellence and efficiency in Medicare, while being more fiscally responsible. One of the most important ways we can achieve those critical goals is to fix the broken Medicare physician payment system, which has created uncertainty and instability for seniors, healthcare providers, and the federal budget for decades. Because of the failed physician payment system, there is a looming crisis facing seniors and the doctors who care for them: on January 1, 2013 doctors could be hit with a scheduled reduction in Medicare payments of more than 30 percent. .More than 55% of participants in TSCL's 2019 Senior Survey support federal programs that help with energy assistance. .Notification dates: Because you started working and received about 6 months of Social Security payments prior to your notification of Social Security, these payments may not have been properly accounted for in your withholdings and may form a substantial portion of the overpayment. It's very important to notify Social Security, either in advance or immediately, if you work. .You may be surprised to learn that Members of Congress, and their congressional staff, receive their employer-sponsored insurance through Obamacare. Their health benefits would also be affected by an Obamacare repeal as well — but unlike your sister and millions of other Americans, Members of Congress already have high quality health insurance to replace their Obamacare plans. In fact, the premium costs of some Members of Congress could go down as they transition back to getting insurance through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB).