Since the start of CPI-E in 1983, the average difference between it and the CPI-W is roughly .25 percentage point per year. Sounds tiny but, like interest, it compounds over time. Had the CPI-E been used to determine COLAs since 2015, your benefit would be about 2% higher today. An average benefit of ,215 per month in 2015 will increase to ,298 per month in 2020. But had the CPI-E been used to calculate the COLAs, that benefit would have been per month more or ,324 in 2020. .TSCL believes that the combined effect of COLA cuts and higher Medicare costs would leave the majority seniors far less able to afford necessities in coming years. Today the average monthly Social Security benefit is just ,150 before deductions for Medicare premiums. The average family income of married couples 65 and over including Social Security is just ,718. .72% support applying the Social Security payroll tax to all earnings (instead of capping the amount of wages to be taxed at 2,800), a move that would reduce Social Security's long - term deficit by as much as 73%. .Some Republicans said such proxy voting is unconstitutional and would subject any legislation passed with such procedures to court challenges. However, Democrats countered by citing letters from two legal scholars who argued the Constitution gives the House and Senate the power to determine their rules and procedures and the courts have declared them off limits to legal challenges. .The Senior Citizens League was pleased to see support grow for these three bills this week, and we thank the new cosponsors for their support. In the months ahead, The Senior Citizens League will continue to advocate for the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act, the Social Security 2100 Act, and the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act, and we urge Congress to enact them this year. .This failure of the COLA to keep up with rising Medicare Part B premiums and other retiree costs is creating a dilemma that is growing in magnitude, not only for older Americans, but also for the nation's safety net programs like Medicaid. A majority of Social Security recipients depend on their benefits for more than half of their income, and almost half of all retirees have only limited or no retirement savings at all. The lack of adequate growth in benefits over the past eight years is pushing modest income seniors into poverty, forcing even those who started out as middle-income retiree households to rely on Medicaid for help paying Medicare costs, rental subsidies, fuel assistance, food pantries and senior meals programs. .When you get your new card, you may begin using it at once. But if you forget to bring it with you to your next doctor's visit your doctor's office should be able to use your old card until December 31, 2019. .Assistance in paying for low cost home weatherization to make your home more energy efficient. .Interestingly, the big drug manufacturers do not like the new rule. A spokesperson for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the drug industry's largest trade group, said the rule is "unconscionable" for making it "harder for patients to use manufacturer cost-sharing assistance to lower their out-of-pocket costs for medicines."