However, current benefits, as we will learn today, are inadequate, unfair, and in many cases discriminatory, because of systemic economic inequities. .The Senior Citizens League strongly supports legislation in both the House and the Senate that would address this issue. H.R.576 Seniors Have Eyes, Ears, and Teeth Act introduced by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA) in the House would expand Medicare to provide routine dental care. In the Senate, S.22 Medicare Dental Benefit Act, introduced by Senator Ben Cardin (MD) would also provide coverage for dental care. .During the years in which inflation as measured by the CPI-W has been the highest, the difference between it and the chained CPI has been greatest. In 2008, for example, when the CPI-W paid a COLA of 5.8% the following year, the chained CPI would have only paid 5.2%, a difference of 0.6 of a percentage point. "And if the government were to use the initial chained CPI data to calculate COLAs for 2012, seniors would get just 2.7% instead of 3.6%, a difference of 0.9 of a percentage point," Hyland says. .According to MedPAC, the Medicare fee schedule undervalues the important services that primary care physicians provide. This creates disparities in compensation between the primary care and specialty fields, and it deters medical students from choosing to enter primary care. To address the issue, MedPAC recommended an extension of a primary care bonus program that is set to expire in the near future. However, instead of offering bonus payments for each service that is provided, the Commission suggested that physicians be rewarded on a per beneficiary basis, which will help the Medicare program improve the coordination of care. .Among the bills that make up the GOP plan is one that would establish congressional review boards to examine the long-term solvency of the three trust funds, a topic that long has been politically fraught. .(Washington, DC) – The tax bill being discussed in the U.S. House contains what may be only a fleeting benefit for middle class and older Americans, warns The Senior Citizens League. "The changes under consideration may provide some modestly lower federal income taxes at first, but the benefits for many people would be short - lived," says The Senior Citizens League's Social Security and Medicare policy analyst, Mary Johnson. "Older middle - income Americans could shoulder a disproportionate share of taxes under these changes, and get pushed more quickly into higher tax brackets than they are today," says The Senior Citizens League's Social Security and Medicare policy analyst, Mary Johnson. .Many Members of Congress who have been long-time friends to seniors and those who have introduced key bills for The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) fared well in Tuesday's elections. Rep. Peter DeFazio (OR-4) (sponsor of the CPI-E Act) won re-election, as did Rep. Linda Sanchez (CA-38) (sponsor of the Strengthening Social Security Act), Rep. Rodney Davis (IL-13) (sponsor of the Social Security Fairness Act), and Rep. Walter Jones (NC-3) (sponsor of the Social Security Guarantee Act). .You can gather indoors with unvaccinated people from one other household (for example, visiting with relatives who all live together) without masks, unless any of those people or anyone they live with has an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19. .With that in mind we remind you that the Federal Trade Commission has warned that anybody offering a chance to jump ahead on the statewide priority list for a vaccination in exchange for money is a scammer.