home care. Concerns have been raised that health plans may not have adequate capacity to handle enrollment of large numbers of dual eligibles en masse in 201In addition, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPac) has said that only a limited number of health plans have any experience managing benefits for this complex population. .Gathering with unvaccinated people from more than one other household .If these aren't challenges enough, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) recently estimated that the Social Security benefits of the first wave of baby boomers have taken a hit from the economic downturn. Due to two years of no cost-of-living-adjustments (COLAs), and lower than expected COLAs, as well as an unprecedented drop in wages over the past decade, retiring seniors' benefits based on average earnings could be impacted as much as ,000. This impact is compounded when the losses in personal retirement savings and 401(k) plans are accounted for. .In May, I introduced bipartisan legislation with Rep. Joe Heck (NV-R). Our plan, the Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act (H.R.5707), ends the broken physician reimbursement system and replaces it with a new, long-term plan that will treat physicians fairly, improve patient outcomes, and reduce costs in Medicare. It also sets us on a long-term path toward greater quality, value, and fiscal responsibility in Medicare and will save billions for taxpayers over the long run. This bill has been endorsed by the Fleet Reserve Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Physicians, the American Geriatrics Society, and other leading organizations. .Due to record-low growth in health care costs, the board hasn't been triggered to begin making recommendations to Congress yet, and it currently has no appointed members. Nonetheless, many lawmakers feel that such critical policy-making decisions should be left solely in the hands of elected representatives, and they hope to repeal it long before it is needed. .Resource online: StopMedicareFraud.gov .Social Security benefits are determined by the income earned (up to the taxable maximum) over a working career, and the number of years worked. The more money you make and pay taxes on, and the more years you work the larger your monthly Social Security benefit will be. The Social Security Administration calculates your benefits based on the 35 years in which you earned the most money. But many women, especially those who become mothers or caregivers, give up a substantial portion of their earnings to care for a family. .Medicaid is a federal and state healthcare program for low - income people. By law, the federal government pays no less than 50% of the costs, and states pay the balance. For the poorest states, the federal portion can be as high as 73%. .The federal government could, for example, invoke a never-before-used power called "march-in rights," through which it can override a patent holder's rights if it doesn't make its medicines "available to the public on reasonable terms." (Unfortunately, in already-signed agreements with BARDA, some drug makers have explicitly watered down or eliminated that proviso.)