According to a report in The Hill newspaper, "House Democratic leaders are intent on including a measure that would allow the secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs, sources say." .Something does need to happen. Seniors haven't received any cost of living adjustment (COLA) over the past two years — an unprecedented situation that hasn't occurred since the annual benefit adjustments began in the 1970's. At the same time, the cost of healthcare, petroleum products, and most recently, food and other consumer goods, are taking big jumps, eroding the purchasing power of benefits. .The income threshold that subjects a portion of Social Security benefits to tax was first set by legislation in 198Before 1984 Social Security benefits weren't taxed, but a financial crisis threatened Social Security in the early ‘80s providing the impetus for Congress to impose the new tax in order to beef up revenues. The tax increase was sold to the public as a tax on "high income" beneficiaries, and it was — in 198At that time only 10% of Social Security beneficiaries paid the tax. But today, it is different. During the 2015 tax season an estimated 56% of Social Security beneficiary households like yours owe federal income taxes on part of their benefit income, according to the Social Security Administration. .Anthony Cummings, a fugitive on the run from a child rape indictment in Georgia, improperly collected thousands of dollars in Supplemental Social Security Income (SSI) payments until the law finally caught up with him. The SSI program, which is administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA), will continue to pay fugitives at least million annually unless state fugitive files can be used to prevent such payments, the agency`s Inspector General recently warned. Auditors estimate that fugitives have collected between 8 million and 0 million in SSI benefits over the past four years. The SSA hopes to negotiate agreements by July to obtain fugitive records from all states. .Medicare Part B enrollees who don't receive Social Security benefits. This includes people who have delayed the start of Social Security and all people who are billed for Medicare. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, in 2013 about half of all people on Medicare who don't receive Social Security yet had incomes below ,000. .Since the November announcement from UnitedHealth, doctors have started to receive termination letters citing "significant changes and pressures in the health-care environment." Doctors who receive the notices had only thirty days to appeal the decision, and if they are dropped from the network, their patients may not find out until they go to schedule their next appointment. .Cut back spending. Given that housing represents more than one-third of their expenses, older Americans might look for ways to free up the equity in their homes by downsizing or taking out a reverse mortgage, or find ways to cut their costs by exploring options such as home-sharing. .Passage of this new rule will allow the House to start conducting business on a larger scale than has been happening since the beginning of the coronavirus social distancing measures. .home care. Concerns have been raised that health plans may not have adequate capacity to handle enrollment of large numbers of dual eligibles en masse in 201In addition, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPac) has said that only a limited number of health plans have any experience managing benefits for this complex population.