TSCL Supports New Legislation .The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a huge toll on nursing homes, leading to large numbers of residents and staff becoming become ill or dying. We hope that such catastrophes may help focus attention on long-term problems that plague these facilities. .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. .On Tuesday, The Senior Citizens League released new data that shows nearly 80 percent of older Americans believe Medicare should cover dental, vision, and hearing services. Under current law, the Medicare program is prohibited from covering these critical services, and many older Americans living on fixed incomes cannot afford to pay out-of-pocket for costly care and assistive technologies like eyeglasses or hearing aids. .The 2% COLA will raise the average Social Security benefit (currently ,258) about But the overwhelming majority of Social Security recipients will never see it. Medicare Part B premiums for most people will rise considerably and completely offset the COLA increase, after being held at lower adjusted levels, as required by law, over the past two years when there was no COLA. This provision of law that protects Social Security benefits from reductions is known as the "hold harmless" provision. .Tuesday's hearing made it clear that the Joint Committee has an enormous amount of work to do in a very short amount of time and in a very politically-charged environment. Adding to the pressure, Elmendorf told the Committee Members that if they wish to have their proposal scored by the CBO before voting on it, they'll need to submit it by early November, giving them less than two months to reach a compromise. Despite the tough circumstances, most Members seemed up to the challenge and will to, as one Committee Member put it, "go big, go long, and go smart." .Thus the new formula went into effect almost immediately for most people and is one reason why retirees born over the ten-year period of 1917 through 1926 were affected, not only those covered by the five-year phase-in. In addition, the economy did not perform the way Congress and the Social Security Administration assumed it would under the new benefit formula. Slower than anticipated wage growth, and higher than expected price inflation, resulted in even greater benefit reductions than under original assumptions. These economic conditions persisted for a decade, thus affecting those born over a ten-year period. .Medicare alone does not cover all the costs you will have. Most people also get either a Medicare supplement to cover out-of-pocket costs and Part D plan for prescription drugs, or enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan with Part D coverage. .To cover the cost of CPI-E Act's adoption and to improve the solvency of the Social Security program, The Senior Citizens League supports an increase in the payroll tax cap. Nearly 75 percent of our supporters agree that the wealthiest Americans must begin contributing to the program more fairly, based on the results of our 2018 Senior Survey. Several bills now before Congress would increase or eliminate the payroll tax cap, and The Senior Citizens League will continue to advocate for their passage tirelessly in the months ahead.