However, you don't need to read the 265-page report to understand why Medicare is going broke. Last year, Medicare spent 3 billion, but only took in 6 billion—leaving a billion deficit in just one year. With 10,000 new individuals becoming eligible each day, it's only going to get worse. .The Senior Citizens League is encouraging Congress to take the opportunity now to strengthen Social Security by beefing up the amount of earnings subject to payroll taxes, a tax provision that has widespread public support. The Senior Citizens League is delivering a letter to Congress this week calling for three tax reforms that would strengthen Social Security and provide relief to millions of older Americans. Those reforms include: .Should Social Security benefits be adjusted annually using a locality – based payment rate? Some of you, particularly those of you who are retired federal employees know far more about locality - based pay adjustments than I do. I hope you folks can set us straight on a new legislative proposal that would use locality- based pay adjustment rates to adjust Social Security benefits. My quest­ion to you — is this a good idea? Why or why not? .Sen. Barbara Mikulski (MD), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, stated earlier this week, "What I hope to be able to do is keep the government open, to avoid a government shutdown, to do no harm, and to be as boring as possible." The House planned to vote on a package that would simply extend current funding levels through mid-December on Thursday, and the Senate was set on taking it up next week. .As a country, we need to be ready to fix this problem once our economy recovers by making reforms that strengthen both programs. Once this occurs, more money will flow back into the trust funds to bolster their coffers. To address this issue I introduced H.R. 1517, the Social Security and Medicare Lock-Box Act, which would establish separate surplus accounts for both the Social Security and Medicare Part A trust fund and help protect against anyone in Washington from spending those resources on unrelated projects. Washington may be broken but legislation like H.R. 1517 will help ensure retirees' hard-earned tax dollars are protected and our promise to seniors is kept. .This week, two new cosponsors – Reps. Louise McIntosh Slaughter (NY-25) and Joyce Beatty (OH-3) – signed on to the Strengthening Social Security Act (H.R. 3118), bringing the total up fifty-four. If signed into law, the bill would reform the Social Security program in three ways: it would adjust the benefit formula, resulting in more generous monthly benefits; it would adopt the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E), resulting in more accurate cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), and it would lift the cap on income subject to the payroll tax. TSCL enthusiastically supports H.R. 3118 since it would extend the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund responsibly, without cutting benefits for seniors. We were pleased to see support grow for it this week. .The Part B and Part D deductible period starts on January 1 of each year and ends on December 3If you were healthy during the year, but require doctor's services in November for the first time and the charge is 0, then you (or possibly your supplemental insurance plan) will have to pay that charge. If you don't see the doctor again until January, you start a whole new deductible period. If he charges you 0 again, then you or your insurer will pay the 0 again. .Fourth, one new cosponsor – Representative Raul Ruiz (CA-36) – signed on to Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act (H.R. 242), bringing the total up to forty-four. This bill, if adopted, would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate lower prescription drug prices on behalf of Medicare Part D beneficiaries. Under current law, CMS is prohibited from doing so. .Only two weeks remain before the March 31st deadline, and at this point, it appears as though a temporary "doc fix" will be necessary. Sen. Hatch mentioned on Tuesday that lawmakers are currently considering a nine-month pay patch, which would mean that lawmakers wouldn't have to revisit the issue until after the November elections. Should lawmakers fail to reach an agreement on either a temporary or a permanent solution, doctors who treat Medicare patients will see a 24 percent pay cut, which would negatively impact seniors' access to quality medical care.