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Friday Alert 4/13/06
Alliance for Retired Americans
888 16th Street, N.W. - Washington DC, 20006 - (202)
974-8222 - www.retiredamericans.or
SPECIAL 2005 VOTING RECORD AND SPRING
HOLIDAY EDITION
Alliance 2005 Voting Record: Congress
Gets a Failing Grade
If the Alliance's 2005
Voting Record reveals the commitment of elected officials to
older Americans, then the first session of the 109th Congress
proved to be yet another direct assault on the quality of life
for retirees. The Alliance assessed how Members of
Congress voted last year on ten House and ten Senate votes that
were important to the welfare of seniors, including Medicare,
retiree benefits, tax breaks and pensions. The Alliance
released the results on Monday.
Since releasing its first voting record in 2001, the Alliance
has documented a disturbing trend of anti-senior sentiment in
Congress. The trend continued in 2005. Scoring 60%
or below constitutes a failure to stand up for seniors - and 53%
of the House and 56% of the Senate received scores below a
passing grade.
Thirty-nine percent of U.S. Representatives and 40% of U.S.
Senators scored 0%. In fact, a majority of Republicans
scored 0%. Notable politicians who received a score of 0%
included Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Rep. Katherine
Harris of Florida, each of whom faces a tough Senate race in
2006.
There was a clear distinction along party lines. While
Republicans in both the House and Senate scored an average of
6%, Democrats averaged 95% in the House and 98% in the
Senate. "With so many Republicans scoring zero in both the
House and Senate, but no Democrats scoring zero in either
chamber, Republicans have a lot of catching up to do to be
considered a friend to retirees," said George J.
Kourpias, President of the Alliance.
The good news is that 35% of the House of Representatives and
40% of U.S. Senators scored a perfect 100%. In Ohio,
likely to be the location of several key races in November,
Reps. Sherrod Brown and Ted Strickland, running for U.S. Senate
and Governor, respectively, both scored 100%. A score of
100% indicates the courage and conviction to stand up for
seniors against drug companies.
"Congress had several opportunities to make senior-friendly
changes, such as allowing the Medicare program to negotiate for
lower drug prices, extending the enrollment period without
penalty, and lowering rebates to drug manufacturers. It
didn't take advantage of those opportunities," said
Edward Coyle, the Alliance's Executive
Director. "The only politicians who will be mentioning
Medicare this election year will be those who saw these problems
and voted to fix them."
"Rather than fix the obvious flaws in the Part D drug program
before chaos ensued," Kourpias echoed, "this
Republican-controlled Congress elected to deepen the deficit
crisis and play favorites with America's most wealthy by
rewarding them with tax cuts, at the expense of retirees and
seniors."
Seniors represent a crucial voting bloc, which votes in
larger numbers than any other segment of the population, and the
Alliance plans to educate and mobilize retirees across the
country to elect a more senior-friendly Congress in
November. To see how your own Member did, go to the
Alliance website, www.retiredamericans.org/votingrecord.
Part D Costs Rise in
2007
BNA's Health Care Policy
reports that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS) have updated the standard Part D drug benefit for 2007,
increasing deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums, and other costs
for seniors by 6.8%. Beginning January 1, 2007, the
deductible for the standard benefit will increase from $250 to
$265. In addition, seniors will have to spend $3,850
out-of-pocket before having 95% of their drug costs
covered. In 2006, seniors have to spend $3,600 of their
own money before the plan pays 95% of all drug expenses.
The doughnut hole, the gap in coverage during which Medicare
recipients must foot the bill for all of their drug costs while
also paying an insurance premium, will also grow. In 2006,
that gap is between $2,250 and $5,100, but in 2007 it will be
between $2,400 and $5,451. "The longer we go without
allowing Medicare to negotiate prices with the drug companies,
the worse the situation gets," said Ruben
Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance.
CMS Officials Exit Through Swinging
Doors to Join Insurers? Trade Group
According
to the publication Modern Healthcare, three key Center
for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) officials are leaving
the agency for positions with the America's Health Insurance
Plans (AHIP) trade group. Craig Miner will be AHIP's
Executive Director in charge of pharmacy groups, while Patricia
Smith and Sue Rohan will become vice presidents. The three
are the latest examples of CMS and Capitol Hill leaders joining
the groups they had a hand in regulating. Previously,
while Thomas Scully was overseeing passage of the Medicare
Modernization Act of 2003 for the White House, he was
simultaneously heading CMS and securing a lobbying position with
a firm that represents several drug companies. Former Rep.
Billy Tauzin (R-LA), who chaired the House Committee on Energy
and Commerce during the writing of the Medicare law, later
accepted a multi-million-dollar deal to become president of the
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA),
the drug industry's lobbying arm.
Did You Know...
An
Activist's guide to using the Voting Record for maximum
effectiveness is also available at www.retiredamericans.org/votingrecord
. Simply go to the site, then click on "What Can I Do?" at
the bottom of the page.
Become part of a progressive grassroots movement! Join the Alliance:
www.retiredamericans.org/join |
