The benefit reduction would be caused by a feature of the Social Security benefit formula that is sensitive to economic recessions and high unemployment. The first step in calculating benefits is to adjust the individual's earnings using the average wage index (AWI) in order to convert the value of past earnings into today's dollars. The AWI is also used to adjust the earnings levels that determine the portion of their average monthly earnings that people are allowed to keep as their benefit. .Several lawmakers at Tuesday's hearing promoted legislation they introduced this year to combat rising costs. Senator Al Franken (MN) asked his fellow committee members to support his Improving Access to Affordable Prescription Drugs Act (S. 771), which would take comprehensive steps to reform the prescription drug industry. In addition, Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) urged those on the committee to cosponsor his bipartisan Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act (S. 469), which would allow individuals and pharmacies to import prescription drugs from approved pharmacies in Canada. .If signed into law, the Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act would repeal the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula for physician reimbursements, and it would set up a five-year trial period during which the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would test and evaluate new payment and delivery models. TSCL strongly believes that the SGR formula breeds uncertainty in the Medicare program for both physicians and beneficiaries. Many doctors have stopped accepting Medicare patients, and many more are threatening to do so if a permanent solution is not established soon. We believe that Rep. Schwartz's bill would bring increased stability to the Medicare program, and we were pleased to see four new cosponsors announce their support for it this week. .Mary Johnson .According to new census estimates, elderly Americans 65 or older incurred the largest increases in poverty among all age groups. The estimates reflect a new formula used to measure poverty. .This sounds similar to the current Medicare Advantage system except for one big difference — the Health and Human Services secretary would be given authority to set beneficiary cost-sharing "based on evidence of the value of services." Under this criterion, who do you think would be more likely to get the best coverage for expensive services like CT scans that can cost ,000 — an 84-year-old, or a 43-year-old mother with two children? Finally, the recommendation would require insurers to pay a surcharge on the Medigap policies that they offer to beneficiaries. This proposal is not new. .The Medicare portion of spending, officials say, grew 6.2 percent in 2011, after growing just 4.3 percent in 20A major factor holding down costs was the recession. As tens of thousands of working seniors lost jobs, and their healthcare coverage, other seniors were hit by the crash of retirement savings and real estate values. This was followed by two years without any cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2010 or 2011. .According to the new survey by The Senior Citizens League, the majority of Medicare beneficiaries (72 percent) report spending for prescription drugs that was less than the Part D initial coverage limit in 2020. But 28 percent of survey participants report a level of monthly drug spending (at least per month and more for co-pays and co-insurance) that puts them at risk of exceeding the Medicare Part D initial coverage limit and hitting the "coverage gap" or "doughnut hole" — the point at which drug costs can be higher than under initial coverage. In addition, one quarter of survey participants, 25 percent, said they postponed filling one or more prescriptions in 2020 due to high cost or shortages. Under current law there is no annual cap on out of pocket spending in Part D, except for the lowest income beneficiaries who qualify for Medicare Extra Help which covers most of their out of pocket costs. .The federal contribution would be redirected from disaster relief money at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Those funds are not likely to last more than two months, and the President did not say when the benefits would kick in.