Sponsors (2)
The bill commissions a GAO study that could produce evidence-based options to protect Social Security and Medicare benefits and purchasing power, but it also risks producing proposals that raise taxes or cut benefits and offers no immediate relief for beneficiaries while consuming federal resources.
Seniors, disabled people, and the roughly 71.7 million Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries could see stronger protection of benefits and preserved purchasing power if Congress adopts policy recommendations from the GAO study.
Congress will receive a GAO-backed analysis within about a year that improves information, transparency, and accountability for decisions about Social Security/Medicare indexing and benefits.
Medicare beneficiaries could benefit from study-driven proposals aimed at maintaining Medicare solvency and protecting benefit levels as medical costs and inflation rise.
Workers and beneficiaries could face higher payroll taxes or cuts to future benefits if the study’s recommendations lead to policy changes to preserve program finances.
The study itself does not change benefits, so delays in acting on recommendations could leave current beneficiaries exposed to ongoing inflationary strain.
Publishing the report could prompt politically contentious proposals (e.g., benefit cuts or tax changes) that increase uncertainty and make financial planning harder for beneficiaries.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires GAO to study how inflation and cost-of-living increases affect Medicare and Social Security (OASDI) and to report legislative recommendations to Congress within one year.
Introduced February 13, 2025 by Zach Nunn · Last progress February 13, 2025
Requires the Comptroller General (GAO) to study how inflation and cost-of-living increases affect Medicare and the Social Security Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program, and to report to Congress within one year with findings and any recommended legislative actions to preserve the programs' ability to provide full benefits. The bill notes current enrollment levels and that rising living costs strain beneficiaries, but it does not change benefits or funding immediately. The study will analyze effects on benefit adequacy and program resiliency and offer recommendations Congress could consider; agencies that administer these programs would likely need to provide data to GAO to support the analysis.