John,

Today, the Social Security Administration announced that Social Security benefits will increase by 2.8% next year to keep up with rising prices.¹

But at the same time, Medicare premiums are projected to rise by about 11.6%―swallowing almost half of the COLA adjustment, even as food and housing inflation demand even more of seniors’ Social Security checks.

These health care price hikes are de facto Social Security cuts―and we need to fight back!

Social Security Works is demanding that Congress use a more accurate formula to measure rising costs, and take immediate action to bring down health care costs. Fuel our fight―donate now!

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Here’s the deal: Social Security’s automatic annual cost-of-living adjustment is intended to ensure that benefits don’t erode over time. It is one of the key reasons Social Security is superior to private sector alternatives.

However, the current COLA measure is inadequate to fully cover rising costs, especially health care costs. That’s especially true this year. Medicare premiums are projected to rise by about 11.6%, around twice as large an increase as last year.² For the average beneficiary, this will consume almost half of their COLA increase. For some beneficiaries, it will consume their entire COLA increase—even as the costs of other necessities balloon due to the Trump tariffs.³

For those Social Security beneficiaries who aren’t yet eligible for Medicare and rely on the ACA marketplaces to purchase health insurance, the situation is even worse. ACA premiums are projected to skyrocket next year, with those over 50 hit hardest.⁴ For many of these beneficiaries, the COLA increase won’t come close to covering their increased health care premiums.⁵

This is exactly why we fought so hard against Donald Trump’s Big Ugly Bill. We’re going to keep pushing to fix this disaster, and we’re all stronger when we fight together. Can you chip in today?

Here’s what a responsible Congress would do in response to this looming disaster:

• Congress should update the formula used to calculate annual COLAs to more accurately measure rising costs. Congressional Democrats have introduced legislation to do just that, along with other improvements to Social Security.

• Additionally, Congress must act to bring down health care costs, so that seniors and people with disabilities can keep their hard-earned Social Security benefits.

Unfortunately, instead of addressing the crisis they created, Republicans have chosen a weeks-long government shutdown. We will all suffer as a result.

Thank you for fighting with us.

Nancy Altman
Social Security Works

¹ https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10/24/business/cpi-inflation-tariffs-fed?smid=url-share#e41b5e8a-98d3-574c-b491-416dba1be030
² https://www.aarp.org/medicare/medicare-part-b-premium-increase-2026/
³ https://www.axios.com/2025/10/02/trump-tariffs-prices-kpmg
⁴ https://www.kff.org/affordable-care-act/aca-marketplace-premium-payments-would-more-than-double-on-average-next-year-if-enhanced-premium-tax-credits-expire/
⁵ https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/770