National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare

The divided 118th congress (2023-2024) forced the National Committee To Preserve Social Security and Medicare into a 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. Opponents of the Social insurance safety net also tried To use the fiscal year 2024 appropriation agreement To create a secretive fiscal commission with the goal of cutting Social Security, Medicare and medicaid benefits. The National Committee stood firmly in opposition To all proposed cuts, including informing our members about how To effectively communicate their views points To policymakers. In addition, the National Committee continued To push for legislation To extend Social Security solvency and improve benefits, regulations To address some of the abuses of private Medicare advantage plans, To create National staffing standards in nursing homes and To expand the reach of medicaid home and community-based (hcbs) services for older adults who wish To live in their own homes. Finally, we called on appropriators To adequately fund the Social Security administration and programs administered by the centers for Medicare and medicaid services and older americans act programs. To follow are the National Committee's main legislative accomplishments during our fiscal year: enactment of the p.l. 118-5, the fiscal responsibility act (fra) (previously known as the debt limit increase deal): suspend the nation's borrowing cap until january 2025 without making cuts To Social Security, Medicare and medicaid. - sets statutory caps on defense and non-defense appropriations for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. Allowed congress To use supplementing non-defense appropriations To bolster program funding. Even with the agreed To supplemental funding for fy 2024, appropriations To non-defense discretionary spending programs - including agencies and programs important seniors - were too low To keep up with inflation, the final agreement was far more generous than the fiscal year 2022-level across the board cuts that house republicans wanted. Enactment of the p.l. 118-364, the further consolidated appropriations act, 2024: - despite a months-long campaign To increase appropriation for the Social Security administration, the law only provided $14.2 billion, an additional $100 million over fy 2023 enacted level. Sadly, this level of funding will have a detrimental effect on service, effectively halting the progress ssa made To begin improving service in fy 2023. Despite this inadequate funding, the National Committee is pleased that the new ssa commissioner, martin o'malley has taken dramatic steps To improve the agency's customer service. - likewise, the National Committee called on congress To increase appropriations for older americans act (oaa) programs. However, p.l. 118-365 includes $2.391 billion, only an additional $64.4 million for oaa programs. This amount is far less than the growing need To provide these serves To more than 10,000 americans who turn 65 every day. - while the house budget Committee approved h.r. 5779, the fiscal commission act of 2024, no further action was taken on the legislation. In addition, supporters of the bill were unsuccessful in their attempt To add h.r. 5779 To p.l. 118-364. Had a fiscal commission become law, it was designed To give political cover To supporters of Social Security, Medicare and medicaid benefits cuts and provide the panel's legislation expedited congressional consideration without an opportunity To make amendments, on an up or down vote. Supported the promulgation of department of health and human services regulations that addressed the worst practices of private Medicare advantage plans, including: - streamlining and automating the prior authorization process and improving transparency for certain payers. While the biden administration's regulation will help To reduce the number of denies of care made by ma plans, congress must enact legislations To ensure that ma participants received the same covered services as traditional Medicare beneficiaries. - makes payments To ma plans more accurate, but more hhs and congressional action will be needed To ensure that taxpayers and traditional Medicare beneficiaries do not have To pay the cost of ma plans, that is higher than traditional Medicare. - closes some loopholes in existing ma requirements by describing what insurers can say in ads and other promotional materials as well as during the enrollment process. While the marketing rules are a helpful start, more is needed in order To adequately protect Medicare beneficiaries from unwanted, often misinforming, and sometimes harassing sales pitches. Supported the promulgation of department of health and human services regulations that require minimum staffing standards at long-term care facilities, including: - requires facilities receiving Medicare and medicaid funding To have a total nurse staffing standard of 3.48 hours per resident per day. Below that bar are also ratio requirements for registered nurses (0.55 hours per resident per day) and nurse aides (2.45 hours per resident per day), and a requirement for at least one registered nurse To be onsite 24 hours a day. The new rule is a step in the right direction, but the number of nursing staff hours required should be increased because federal studies should that more care should be required than was in this regulation. Built support for the house Committee on ways and means and the full house of representatives To consider and approve, the "Social Security 2100": - devoted considerable advocacy resources To advancing the 118th congress version of the "Social Security 2100 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. 4583 and mobilizing the National Committee's grassroots members To urge their representatives To cosponsor and vote for the bill. Worked with the department of health and human services and the centers for Medicare and medicaid services To promote the implementation of drug pricing reforms in p.l. 117-169, the inflation reduction act, including: - for the first time, there is a $3,300 hard cap on all out-of-pocket drug costs under Medicare, and - eligibility for the Medicare part d low-income subsidy program was expanded. Coalitions during fy 2024, the National Committee and aarp jointly held five townhall meetings on the value of Social Security. The goal of these forums was 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. To follow is a summary of the give townhall meeting that were held 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 11 candidates and committees this past fiscal year. Throughout the fiscal year, the pac made $10,800 in contributions To candidates and committees. During the 2024 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 mike levin (d-ca) senate candidate debbie mucarsel-powell (d-fl) senator tim kaine (d-va) senator tammy baldwin (d-wi)

Education: media interviews: media interviews grp staff were interviewed by the wall street journal, mcclatchy news service, marketwatch, pbs, think advisor, states news service, hearst tv news network and c-span. 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, implementation of the 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, fy appropriations legislation and the proposed fiscal commission. 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 2023: viewpoint: the president's fy 2024 budget impacts seniors now and in the future - april 2023: analysis of the 2023 Social Security trustees report - april 2023: analysis of the 2023 Medicare trustees report - april 2023: legislative agenda 2023 - may 2023: commissions are a back-door way To cut Social Security - october 2023: viewpoint: the greenspan commission: a dangerous blueprint for cutting Social Security - february 2024: the fiscal commission act: greasing the wheels To cut Social Security and Medicare without political accountability - february 2024: fact sheet: h.r. 5779, the fiscal commission act of 2024 - march 2024: raising the Social Security tax cap. Congressional meetings National Committee met with the following members of congress and/or their staff: - april 2023: met with representative john larson (d-ct) and democratic staff of the house Committee on Social Security. - may 2023: met with representative john larson (d-ct) and veronica escobar (d-tx). - june 2023: met with democratic staff of the house Committee on Social Security and house democratic leader hakeem jefferies staff. - july 2023: met with representative john larson (d-ct). - october 2023: met with senate democratic leader charles schumer (d-ny) and democratic staff of the house Committee on Social Security. - november 2023: met with representative david trone (d-md) and representative jan schakowsky's (d-il) staff. - december 2023: met with representative debbie dingell's (d-mi) staff. - january 2024: met with senator tim kaine's (d-va) staff. - february 2024: met with representative john larson (d-ct) and his staff, and democratic staff of the house Committee on Social Security. - march 2024: met with representative jimmy panetta's (d-ca) staff. Congressional and administration letters and statements the National Committee wrote the following letters To members of congress: - april 2023: testimony for ways and means subcommittee on Social Security, letter opposing the limit, save, growth act and joint letter urging congress To pass a clean debt limit bill. - may 2023: letter endorsing Social Security protecting our widows and widowers in retirement (powr) act, letter endorsing seniors securing access To vital and essential (save) prescription drugs act, strengthen Social Security coalition letter To problem solvers caucus, letter endorsing strengthening Social Security act and letter To appropriations committees on ncpssm priorities for fy 2024. - june 2023: letter To house on commission for Social Security, letter endorsing h.r. 4348 fairness in Social Security act, letter endorsing h.r. 4260 public servents protection fairness act. - july 2023: the women's retirement protection act and letter endorsing Social Security 2100 act. - september 2023: letter endorsing swift act, letter endorsing s.1174/h.r. 4535 Medicare and Social Security fair share act, letter To congress reiterating National Security priorities for fy 2024 appropriations for Social Security and older americans act. - october 2023: testimony for house budget Committee fiscal commission hearing - november 2023: letter To house leaders: Social Security administration appropriations anomaly, letter To senate leaders: Social Security administration appropriations anomaly, letter To house on debt commission, letter To senate on debt commission and ncpssm letter To cms commenting on notice of proposed rulemaking (nprm). - january 2024: letter To house budget Committee opposing h.r. 5779. - february 2024: letter To potus on Social Security in fy 2025 budget. - march 2024: letter To senator casey endorsing the boosting benefits and colas for seniors act, testimony To senate finance Committee on Social Security administration fy 2025 budget, testimony To house ways and means Committee on Social Security administration fy 2025 budget, letter To rep. magaziner supporting h. res. 1029, letter To ways and means Committee - opposing h.r. 7513 and letter To cms on Medicare advantage plan rules.