The expert witnesses at the hearing focused their suggestions on improving the marketplace. Edmud Hailsmaier – Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation – said policymakers should change how they see the individual market. He said it should be thought of as two distinct pools which include (1) individuals wishing to be protected against the financial liability of large health expenses, and (2) those who are very sick and have no other insurance options. .Because just one Senator can stall legislation through what is known as a filibuster, it takes 60 votes to pass any bill unless it is through a process called "reconciliation," which then requires only a simple majority of 51. .When he first ran for office, candidate Trump promised he would not make any attempt to cut Social Security or Medicare while he is President. But in an interview this week with CNBC's Joe Kernan, and definitely something we will be keeping a close eye on, President Trump mentioned in a news conference that cutting entitlements (Social Security and Medicare) is not off the table. .The House-passed bill eliminates the medical expense deduction, which approximately 5 million taxpayers over the age of sixty-five rely upon when their out-of-pocket medical costs total more than 10 percent of their annual income. The elimination of this deduction would be a catastrophic financial loss for those who find themselves in need of costly in-home or nursing home care. Congressman Kevin Brady (TX-8) – the chairman of the bicameral conference committee – said this week that he hopes to keep the deduction in place, but discussions remain up in the air. .Congress this week was sort of the entire U.S. in miniature form. The Senate came back to town to conduct business, but not all Senators agreed with that. Most Senators followed the rules for wearing face masks, but not all. Not all committee hearings were attended by all the members. Most Senators were careful about following the protocols that have been recommended by health care professionals, but not all. .We encourage you to tell incumbent Members of Congress who are running for re-election what you expect from the lawmakers who represent you. Outline the changes you support for Social Security and ask the candidates if they are willing to end the tax breaks for the wealthy so that all working Americans can enjoy a more secure retirement. .The absence of a Social Security cost-of living adjustment (COLA), or even an extremely low one, triggers a provision of law that, while a valuable protection of Social Security benefits, has led to several steep increases in the Medicare Part B premium over the past decade. The deep recession caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus and shortages have caused consumer prices to plunge, then rise like a roller coaster in 2020. If consumer prices remain low through September 2020, it is likely there will be an extremely low annual Social Security COLA for 2021, and this provision of law will be triggered to some extent again.[1] .Last month, I reintroduced our resolution with modifications to address the changes in these scams. Congress should not only pass legislation to prevent the scams from happening, but also to improve protections for seniors from these incidents in light of the new challenges in this pandemic. .Estimating that this new rule would save approximately million over five years, CMS proposes to require Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans to "involuntarily dis-enroll" people who are in the country illegally, something that may prove difficult for private plans to substantiate.