Coronavirus and Seniors Petition
Petition to the Leadership of the Congress of the United States:
Americans 60 years of age and older are among the most vulnerable to the ravages of COVID-19. Their health and income security is significantly aggravated by the crisis.
Social Security is the major source of income for most of America’s seniors with 46% of retirees depending on Social Security for 90% or more of their income and an average monthly benefit of just $1,1509.
Older Americans spend 20% to 40% of their income on health care.
Congress must enact additional measures to defend seniors’ financial and health security, including:
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Enact the improvements in the Emergency Social Security Benefits Act, including an increase in widows’ and widowers’ benefits for lower-and-middle-income beneficiaries, and raising the threshold for the minimum benefit to 125% of the federal poverty line; and
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Increase by $250 the monthly benefit for all Social Security, Veterans, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries through the end of 2021; and
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Create a new Medicaid grant for states to boost their home and community-based long-term care services; and
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Appropriate an additional $400 million for the Social Security Administration’s operating budget to help the agency cope with the increase in coronavirus-related claims, including expected survivors’ benefit applications, and
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Extend the 90-day prescription refill rule applied to Medicare in the CARES Act to all patients.