Press Release
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St. Helena – Today, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) released the following statement after the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced a cost-of-living adjustment of 8.7 percent next year. This adjustment will be the largest increase in benefits in more than 40 years. “Social Security is an essential program that every employed American pays into over the course of their career. 145,474 constituents in our district receive Social Security benefits every year, and we must ensure these benefits keep up with the needs of beneficiaries,” said Thompson. “Paired with the action in the Inflation Reduction Act to lower seniors’ prescription drug costs, this increase is going to help our seniors’ financial wellbeing. As higher prices continue to weigh on our community, I am relieved to see the SSA announce historic action to increase benefits for Social Security recipients and help ease the impact of rising costs.” For the first time, the Inflation Reduction Act empowers Medicare to negotiate prices for the highest cost single-source drugs in Medicare. Over the past 20 years, price increases for brand-name drugs in Medicare Part D have risen at more than twice the rate of inflation. The Inflation Reduction Act also caps Part D out-of-pocket drug costs at $2,000 a year for seniors and individuals with disabilities on Medicare, starting in 2025. The 8.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to more than 65 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2023. Increased payments to more than 7 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 30, 2022. The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA to the increase in the Consumer Price Index as determined by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. While Democrats are working to protect and expand Social Security, extreme MAGA Republicans have unveiled a plan to end Social Security and Medicare as we know it. This would make it even harder for Californians to prepare for retirement. |