The latest newsletter from the Senior Citizens League is out and while we were sweltering away over the summer, there was lots of action taking place in D.C. that relates to us. All mostly good. All mostly in the favor of seniors.
Social Security's "Return to Work" Penalty
The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) is backing a bill to repeal Social Security’s Retirement Earnings Test—the policy that reduces benefits by $1 for every $2 earned above $24,480 by a beneficiary who is younger than full retirement age.
TSCL says 79% of seniors took benefits early in 2026, up from 68% the year before, a trend the organization directly associates with the penalty.
“Social Security was designed to help our aging community avoid poverty, not to kick people out of the workforce,” said bill sponsor Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL).
Supreme Court OKs Medicare Drug Price Negotiation
The Supreme Court’s decision to decline hearing industry appeals locks in Medicare’s power to negotiate drug prices. This wasn't met with a champagne toast by Big Pharma, who have aggressively pushed back on the program, claiming that if policymakers want to lower costs, they should get in the face of insurers and third-party pharmacy benefit managers instead.
So far, seniors have close to 30 drugs whose prices have been negotiated by the Trump Administration. All told, out-of-pocket costs have been cut by more than 50% on average, with 15 more drugs added to the program in 2027.
The Medicare Dental Care Gap
As many of SSD readers know, original Medicare (Parts A and B) doesn’t cover dental care at all, leaving seniors in a position to have to pay anywhere from $120 to $300 for a routine cleaning, licensed insurance agent Susan Stewart writes in TSCL's Advisor newsletter.
Her biggest tip: Make sure a dentist is really “in network,” not just “participating.” TSCL’s newsletter notes that difference alone can make the difference between a $0 bill and paying the balance yourself.
Gary P Guthrie
COLA Watch: What’s Next in 2027?
TSCL’s July tracker shows the average Social Security check at $1,938 across all beneficiaries and $2,084 for retired workers as of June 2026. The League is projecting a 3.8% cost-of-living adjustment for 2027, based on the CPI-E inflation measure, it says more accurately mirrors spending patterns of seniors, well above this year’s 2.8%. It will be about three more months before the official Social Security Administration number is released. Keep your fingers crossed.
Smart Senior Daily Staff
Prior Authorization Reform Bill Moves Forward
Writing in a guest column for TSCL's Advisor, Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA) highlights H.R. 3514, the Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act, which has drawn 297 House cosponsors, just over half the chamber, since its introduction in May 2025. The bill cleared committee on a bipartisan 42-0 vote on July 15, 2026, a real step forward after similar versions stalled in previous sessions of Congress.
Under the bill, Medicare Advantage plans would be required to stand up an electronic, time-bound prior authorization system by January 1, 2028, with transparency requirements taking effect a year earlier.
Credit given where credit is due—Capitol Hill is responding to research. In this case, the mandate responds to two HHS Office of Inspector General reports released in June 2026 which found that some Medicare Advantage plans overturn the large majority of their own denials once patients or providers appeal (in one category, over 95% of the time) and deny more than half of certain post-acute care requests outright on the first pass.
Note: TSCL’s newsletter carries a disclaimer that guest columns like Bera’s “do not necessarily reflect the position of” the League itself.
Gary P Guthrie
