Legislators cannot effectively operate on their own without the input of those who elected them. After all, the Constitution guarantees "the right of the people to petition the government for redress of grievance," acknowledging that calling upon our elected representatives is a fundamental principle of our democracy. TSCL's grassroots petition campaign highlighted this freedom and successfully grabbed not just the ears, but the eyes and attention of Congress toward the concerns of millions of seniors nationwide. .This article focuses on immediate annuities that provide income that starts right away, and lasts over your entire lifetime. (There are deferred annuities that younger investors purchase for later payouts. This type often has a reputation for high sales costs and poor investment performance and is not the topic of this article.) .Sen. Sherrod Brown Introduces CPI-E Bill .Survey the assisted living and long term care options available in your area. You can start your search by phone or online using the Eldercare Locator 1-800-677-111The Eldercare Locator is a service of the U.S. Administration on Aging and connects people with services in your community. .In 2019 you are allowed to earn ,640, or ,470 per month. If, for example, you were to earn ,000 this year then you would have ,180 withheld from your Social Security benefits. Your earnings would be ,360 in excess of ,640. Half of that is ,180. The Social Security Administration collects this by withholding your monthly Social Security payments until it collects the ,180. Let's say you get a retirement benefit of ,000, that could mean Social Security would withhold your entire Social Security benefit for the next seven months. Once the ,180 is collected the difference will be sent later. .Second, four new cosponsors signed on to the Social Security Fairness Act (S. 915, H.R. 1205), bringing the cosponsor total up to twenty-seven in the Senate and 190 in the House. The new cosponsors are: Senator Patty Murray (WA), Senator Tom Udall (NM), Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23), and Representative Vicky Hartzler (MO-4). If adopted, the Social Security Fairness Act would repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) – two provisions that unfairly reduce the earned Social Security benefits of millions of teachers, police officers, and other state and local government employees each year. .This week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its preliminary 2015 payment rate changes for the Medicare Advantage (MA) program. In addition, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) saw two key bills gain support. . Double check the price quote that you received by checking the difference in price between several retail walk-in pharmacies and Humana's mail-in. Sometimes the price can be very different between the two. I learned that my drug plan's mail-in pharmacy would charge me 3 for three albuterol inhalers. The small local walk-in pharmacy was still charging just 1.99 for three. Often, mail order can be less expensive than walk-in retail. Check for each separate drug. You can use the Medicare drug plan finder to help you look up your plan and learn the cost of your co-pay or co-insurance. .The Social Security Fairness Act, if adopted, would make the Social Security program more equitable by repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). These two provisions of law unfairly cut the Social Security benefits of millions of teachers, police officers, and other state or local government employees, often by 40 percent or more. By repealing both provisions, the Social Security Fairness Act would ensure that public servants receive the Social Security benefits they have earned and deserve.