National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare

Legislation: majorities in the 117th congress (2021-2022) that were relatively senior-friendly enable the National Committee To Preserve Social Security and Medicare To complete a long-sought goal of enacting meaningful prescriptive drug price reform. However, the first few months of a divided 118th congress (2023-2024) forced us into a more defensive mode To ensure that enactment of legislation To suspend or increase the debt limit did not include cuts To Social Security, Medicare and medicaid benefits. In addition, the National Committee continued To push for legislation To extend Social Security solvency and improve benefits, address the abuses of private Medicare advantage plans and called on appropriators To adequately fund the Social Security administration and older americans act programs. To follow are the National Committee's main legislative accomplishments during our fiscal year: enactment of the inflation reduction act (previously known as the "build back better act"): since the Medicare modernization act of 2003 - the law that created the part d prescription drug benefit - became law, the National Committee has labored To provide the Medicare programs and beneficiaries with the tools needed To contain and lower skyrocketing prescription drug prices. On august 16, 2022, significant progress was made toward that goal when president biden signed into law the inflation reduction act of 2022, which includes the following prescription drug price reforms: - for the first time, requires the federal government To negotiate prices for some top-selling drugs covered under Medicare. - requires drug companies To pay rebates if prices rise faster than inflation for drugs used by Medicare beneficiaries. - eliminates the 5 percent coinsurance requirement for catastrophic coverage in Medicare part d in 2024, adds a $2,000 cap on part d out-of-pocket spending in 2025, and limits annual increases in part d premiums for 2024-2030. - limits monthly cost sharing for insulin products To $35 for people with Medicare. - expands eligibility for Medicare part d low-income subsidy full benefits. - eliminates cost sharing for adult vaccines covered under Medicare part d and improves access To adult vaccines under medicaid and the children's health insurance program. Laid the groundwork To prevent a government default which would have stop payment of Social Security and Medicare benefits and To ensure that legislation To avoid a default did not cut Social Security, Medicare or medicaid benefits: - on january 19, 2023, the federal government reached the statutory limit on the amount it could borrow To pay for spending previously approved by congress and current and past presidential administrations. - if congress failed To raise or suspend the debt limit after the treasury department had exhausted "extraordinary measures" To avoid a default, the government would have defaulted on its legally binding financial obligations, a global economic catastrophe would have likely resulted and payment of Social Security, Medicare and medicaid benefits could have been jeopardized. - in exchange for their support To pass a bill To avoid a default, house republicans repeatedly said during the 2022 election campaign that this legislation must include cuts To Social Security and Medicare, including: - cutting the Social Security cost-of-living adjustments of current and future retirees. - raising the Social Security retirement age To 70 and increasing the Medicare eligibility age To 67, and. - ending traditional Medicare for the benefit of private insurance companies. - during the last three months of our fiscal year (the first three months of the 118th congress), the National Committee urged the president and capitol hill democrats To insist that cuts in earned benefits and budget commissions and/or procedural changes aimed at cutting Social Security and Medicare not be included in any debt ceiling legislation. - by repeatedly reminding the public and elected officials that the overwhelming majority of americans opposed cutting Social Security and Medicare benefits, the National Committee helped president biden persuade congressional republicans during the february 7, 2023 state of the union address To take such cuts off the table in the negotiations To enact legislation To suspend or increase the debt limit. Built support for the house Committee on ways and means and the full house of representatives To consider and approve, the "Social Security 2100: a sacred trust act": - devoted considerable advocacy resources To advancing the 117th congress version of the "Social Security 2100: a sacred trust act" in the house through testimony To the house subcommittee on Social Security, meetings with key members of congress about the bill, building a broad coalition of advocacy organizations in support of h.r. 5723 and mobilizing the National Committee's grassroots members To urge their representatives To cosponsor and vote for the bill. While the house Committee on ways and means considered the Social Security 2100 act, the house majority leadership did not bring the bill before the full house before the 117th congress adjourned. Continue To lead a coalition of Medicare beneficiary groups To investigate charges that the Medicare direct contracting/reach aco demonstration program will result in the privatization of Medicare: - the National Committee gathered a coalition of organizations that primarily represent Medicare beneficiaries To meet regularly with the biden administration To investigate allegations and To press for safeguards To ensure that direct contracting entities do not compromise patient care. The coalition has approached this issue by embracing the mission of acos To improve care coordination and the treatment of chronic conditions while scrutinizing the participation of private insurers and other investor backed companies in the model. - in response To concerns raised by the National committee-led coalition, the centers for Medicare and medicaid services (cms) announced that they were restructuring and rebranding the "direct contracting entities" (dces) demonstration project. - effective january 1, 2023, dce's were renamed the "accountable care organization realizing equity, access and community health" (aco reach) model. - provider control of the aco reachs increased from 25 percent To 75 percent - like original acos. In addition, the remaining 25 percent of an aco governing board must include at least one beneficiary representative and a consumer advocate. - cms also said that the rebranded model would include better beneficiary protections, including: -up front screening of provider groups applying To become an aco reach. - robust monitoring of aco reach providers. - greater transparency during the implementation of the demonstration project. - sharing more information with providers. - stronger protections against aco reach "upcoding" - the abusive practice of inflating the sickness of their patients To get higher payments from Medicare. - cms officially ended - instead of pausing - the trump-era "geo model" that would have aggressively shifted large numbers of beneficiaries into managed care plans. Coalitions: during the last four months of fy 2023, the National Committee persuaded aarp To agree To a proposal To jointly hold five townhall meetings on the value of Social Security. The goal of these forums is To ensure that current and future beneficiaries believe that improving Social Security is in their self-interest and that this personal stake motivates them To be advocates for the program. Planning began To hold Social Security townhall meetings during the summer and fall of 2023 in richmond, va, philadelphia, pa, lansing, mi, milwaukee, wi and las vegas, nv. The National Committee continued To play a leadership role in the leadership council of aging organizations (lcao), a coalition of 69 National nonprofit organizations concerned with the well-being of america's older population and committed To representing their interests in the policy-making arena. Five of lcao's member organizations, including the National Committee, take turns chairing the coalition. The National Committee was also an active member of the strengthening Social Security coalition (sssc) steering Committee and the consortium for citizens with disabilities Social Security taskforce. Political activities: the ncpssm-political action Committee (pac) endorsed or supported 67 candidates and committees this past fiscal year. Throughout the fiscal year, the pac made $51,549.92 in contributions To candidates and committees. Throughout the 2022 election cycle, the National Committee took part in several in-person endorsement events, several of which earned positive press coverage. The candidates we endorsed in person were: - representative dan kildee (d-mi) - representative jennifer wexton (d-va) - representative david trone (d-md) - representative joe morelle (d-ny) - representativ

Education: media interviews: media interviews: grp staff were interviewed by the center for health journalism; wdun radio in gainesville, ga (twice); wvbf radio in tauton, ma (three times); kgmi in bellingham, wa; financial advisor; wvmt radio in burlington, vt (twice); cnbc (three times); wntk radio in new london, ct; wvbf in cincinnati, oh; kkob radio in albuquerque, nm; reuters; Washington examiner; semafor. Volunteer engagement the National Committee held monthly volunteer calls with activists, drafted and distributed grassroots weekly updates To inform volunteers, and responded To volunteer requests for materials, literature, and information To promote engagement. Worked with ncpssm volunteers and activists To encourage them To call, email and visit their members of congress To urge them To support the Social Security 2100 act, prescription drug price provisions in the inflation reduction act, and lobby against including any Social Security, Medicare or medicaid benefit cuts in a compromise agreement To raise or suspend the debt limit. Our National volunteers held grassroots events and performed community outreach in new hampshire, Florida, Colorado, and California. Policy papers National Committee policy papers (excluding updates of the large volume of existing documents): - april 2022: the president's fy 2023 budget impacts seniors now and in the future. - june 2022: analysis of the 2022 Social Security trustees report, a constitutional balanced budget amendment threatens Social Security, Medicare and medicaid, analysis of the 2022 Medicare trustees report. - august 2022: the inflation reduction act: drug pricing provisions. - september 2022: drug rebates for low-income Medicare beneficiaries, understanding medigap policies. - october 2022: means-testing Social Security: breaking faith with american workers, women's Social Security benefits, improving the Medicare home health benefit. - january 2023: Social Security provides vital benefits for young people. - february 2023: viewpoint: the cassidy-king plan for Social Security is a trojan horse for benefit cuts; legislative agenda for the 118th congress. - march 2023: viewpoint: the trust act: setting the stage for cuts To Social Security and Medicare while avoiding political accountability. Congressional meetings National Committee met with the following members of congress and/or their staff: - special senate Committee on aging democratic staff: met nearly monthly with the Committee democratic staff director and her colleagues along with other representatives of leadership council of aging organization chairing organizations. - april 2022: met with the democratic staff of the senate Committee on finance and special senate Committee on aging. - may 2022: met with several democratic senators at a meeting of the senate democratic steering and outreach Committee and with senator joe manchin's staff. - june 2022: max richtman participated in a tele-townhall with representative marci kaptur (d-oh). Met with several house democrats from California, representative john larson (d-ct) and the staffs of representatives joe courtney (d-ct) and katie porter (d-ca). - august 2022: met with representative larson. - september 2022: met with representatives matt cartwright (d-pa) and larson. Met with the democratic staff of the senate Committee on finance. - october 2022: met with representatives joe morelle (d-ny), steve horsford (d-nv), dina titus (d-nv), susie lee (d-nv), and cartwright. - november 2022: met with the democratic health care legislative staff of the house Committee on ways and means. - december 2022: met with several democratic senators at a reception of the senate democratic steering and outreach Committee. - january 2023: met with representatives brendan boyle (d-pa), mary gay scanlon (d-pa), and dan goldman (d-ny). Met with the democratic staff of the house subcommittee on Social Security. - february 2023: met with representative boyle. Met with the democratic staff of the senate Committee on finance and the democratic health care legislative staff of the house Committee on energy and commerce. - march 2023: met with nearly all of the democratic members of the house Committee on ways and means. Congressional letters and statements the National Committee wrote the following letters To members of congress: - april 2022: endorsement of improving Social Security's service To victims of identity theft act, letter endorsing the discounted drugs for clinical trials act, letter endorsing the pharmaceutical research and transparency act of 2022, letter endorsing the generic substitution non-interference act, endorsement of the women's retirement protection act. - may 2022: appropriations must meet the needs of older americans, letter endorsing the price relief, innovation and competition for essential drugs (priced act), statement at hearing on "strengthening Social Security's customer service". - june 2022: statement on hearing on saving Social Security: expanding benefits and demanding the wealthy pay their fair share or cutting benefits and increasing retirement anxiety, letter To house labor-hhs appropriations subcommittee chair rosa delauro (d-ct). - july 2022: letter endorsing the protecting and preserving Social Security act. - august 2022: letter To senate on the inflation reduction act of 2022, letter To house on inflation reduction act. - september 2022: letter requesting support for president biden's request for additional funding for the Social Security administration (ssa) for fiscal year (fy) 2023 in the upcoming continuing resolution, letter To senate supporting ssa anomaly in continuing resolution. - january 2023: letter urging senators To raise the debt limit, letter endorsing the Social Security expansion act, letter endorsing the Social Security enhancement and protection act. - february 2023: letter endorsing the safeguarding american families and expanding Social Security act of 2023 (safe Social Security act), letter endorsing the fair cola for seniors act. - march 2023: letter endorsing the nursing home disclosure act, letter To senators cassidy-king on their plan for Social Security, letter endorsing the protecting older workers against discrimination act, letter endorsing the hcbs access act. White house letters the National Committee wrote the following letters To the white house: - may 2022: letter To potus supporting an ssa beneficiary advocate position. - august 2022: letter To president biden regarding signing the inflation reduction act into law.