Many observers believe the plan will likely include a combination of tax increases and benefit cuts for Social Security. Some of the most commonly mentioned proposals are: (1) switching to the chained Consumer Price Index (CPI) to calculate Social Security COLAs; (2) lifting or raising the cap on income which is subject to Social Security taxes; and (3) raising the Social Security retirement age. Switching to the chained CPI alone would both reduce initial benefits and cut lifetime Social Security benefits by more than 10%. .The federal government negotiates prescription drug prices for Medicaid and for veterans, but it is not allowed to negotiate lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries. Do you support that policy? .Under current law, the Medicare program is prohibited from negotiating prices with pharmaceutical companies despite the fact that other federal health programs are required to do so. As a result, older Americans enrolled in Part D often pay much higher prices than other American consumers for their prescription drugs. If adopted, this bill would lead to billions of dollars in savings for the Medicare program, and it would immediately reduce prescription drug prices for Medicare Part D beneficiaries. .Johnson selected 20 companies for her sample and downloaded each company's public 2018 proxy information, which contains Executive Compensation Tables required by the Security Exchange Commission. The analysis uses only the actual salary and performance pay, both of which are subject to Medicare and Social Security payroll taxes up to the limit. No stock awards were included. .A California physician ordered 115 Schedule II drugs (the class at highest risk for addiction) for just one beneficiary in 200Medicare paid 5,711. .Social Security recipients will receive the highest cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 5 years, effective January 1st. The Social Security Administration recently announced a COLA of 2%. While the boost is critically needed for almost 61.5 million beneficiaries to maintain their purchasing power, the 2% COLA extends a disturbing 8-year pattern of low COLAs that have been far below the 4% average established in the decade prior to 2010 and the Great Recession. .In the months ahead, TSCL's legislative team will closely monitor proposals that would impact older Americans, and we will continue to advocate for legislation that would strengthen and modernize the Social Security and Medicare programs responsibly, without enacting harsh benefit cuts. .Earnings from work could cause Social Security to withhold your benefits. Should you be successful in your job search, your earnings could affect what you receive in Social Security benefits. Social Security will deduct in benefits for every you earn above the annual limit, which is adjusted annually and is ,720 in 201If for example, you started a job and earn ,000 in 2017, you would earn ,280 more than the exempt ,720. That means Social Security with withhold about ,140 in benefits. If you are receiving a reduced survivors monthly benefit of 5, or ,100 annually, then you would receive only 0 in benefits for the entire year of 201You would receive no benefits at all for 10 months out of the year. .Consequently, Medicare spent billion in 2013 but paid out billion by 2017 for these treatments. In addition, neurology medicines, mostly those used to combat multiple sclerosis, accounted for more than 50% of total Medicare payments, despite representing just 4% of all claims filed.