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Even before the coronavirus pandemic Congress was facing tough decisions on how to strengthen the Medicare's Part A Hospital Insurance trust fund. But Congress is now running out of time and will need to move soon on a plan to prolong program solvency..Chapter 1The Consumer Price Index, Handbook of Methods, The Bureau of Labor Statistics, updated April 18, 2019..Many pharmacies are already administering vaccine doses that have been allocated to states. Under the new program, the federal government would ship doses directly to pharmacies. The new pharmacy initiative - which is aimed at broadening access to vaccines generally - is separate from an ongoing federal program to have Walgreens and CVS vaccinate residents of long-term care facilities..The House will also pursue legislation to strengthen the 2010 health care law, Hoyer said. "We've already passed bills on protecting preexisting conditions, but that was a very high priority for us, and we may do something else," he said..Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle agree that the current payment formula the sustainable growth rate is fundamentally flawed. TSCL was disappointed when the Affordable Care Act did not address the issue in 2010, but many believe that the lame-duck session following the November election will provide a prime opportunity for Congress to finally repeal the faulty formula. The replacement options are numerous, however, and many of them are contentious. Just three months away, it still remains unclear which solution lawmakers could agree upon..In a statement that was released after the final vote, Senator McCain said: "We must now return to the correct way of legislating and send the bill back to committee, hold hearings, receive input from both sides of the aisle, heed the recommendations of the nation's governors, and produce a bill that finally delivers affordable health care for the American people. We must do the hard work our citizens expect of us and deserve." In addition, Senator Murkowski told reporters: "We cannot let the public believe that we are done with health care. We're just beginning.".Included is the issue of surprise billing, in which patients are charged out-of-network prices for services they thought were in-network. This issue has gained great urgency because so many people are ending up with bills for thousands of dollars even though they have health insurance which they thought would cover the expenses for which they are being billed..Representative Elijah Cummings introduced H.R. 448 on January 10, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and to the Committee on Ways and Means..Sadly, Social Security benefits and cost-of-living adjustments specifically, have not kept up with inflation in recent years. The Senior Citizens League has estimated that the 2021 COLA will be just 1.3%., the second lowest in its history. This comes as our nation grapples with a once-in-a-century pandemic and seniors are relying on their Social Security benefits to get by more than ever before.