It would: boost monthly Social Security benefits by 2 percent, improve the adequacy of the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, create a new minimum benefit set at 125 percent of the poverty line, and cut taxes for millions of beneficiaries. To cover the cost of these benefit enhancements and extend the solvency of the Social Security Trust Funds for decades to come, it would also apply the payroll tax to income over 0,000 and gradually increase the payroll tax rate from 6.2 percent to 7.4 percent. .The issue is of huge importance. Feds Shut Down .2 Billion Medicare Scheme — Finally , editor .d freedoms as U.S. Citizens, and to protect and defend the benefits senior citizens have earned and paid for. The Senior Citizens League is a proud affiliate of The Retired Enlisted Association. Visit for more information. .For details, or to see if your Members of Congress will be holding town hall meetings during the summer recess, call their local offices. You can find contact information HERE. For a list of ten sample town hall questions, click HERE. .More than 30% of all Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans last year. The federal government pays plans a monthly fee to deliver all their healthcare needs — a fee that's based for the most part on risk scores. In 2015 plans like Humana received on average about ,900 per person for the year. According to government estimates, Medicare made nearly billion in improper payments to Medicare Advantage plans from 2008 through 2013, mostly due to inflated risk scores. .On Tuesday, Senators on the influential Finance Committee held a hearing titled "Examining the Proposed Medicare Part B Drug Demonstration." Dr. Patrick Conway testified before the full committee on the status of the controversial demonstration program, which was proposed by CMS earlier this year and has not yet been implemented. The program will test new payment strategies for hospitals and physicians who administer prescription drugs to Medicare beneficiaries receiving outpatient care. It is a new attempt by the Obama Administration to move away from a medical system that rewards volume of care and towards one that values high-quality care. .The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed charges against more than half a dozen people accused of pushing silver products and other fake treatments for Covid-1The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has gotten the marketer of a Vitamin C supplement to stop claiming it can treat the virus. And the FTC and Food and Drug Administration have been sending dozens of joint warning letters to companies for touting unapproved treatments or preventatives. .More than 55% of participants in TSCL's 2019 Senior Survey support federal programs that help with energy assistance. .In the weeks ahead, TSCL will continue to advocate for tax reforms that would benefit the financial security of older Americans, and we will post updates on the movement of the Ways and Means Committee's bill here in the Legislative News section of our website. For more information on TSCL's tax reform recommendations, click HERE.