Friday Alert   June 9, 2006
Alliance for Retired Americans
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Key House Republican Renews Social Security Privatization Talk
Rep. Jim McCrery (R-LA), who hopes to become Chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee if Republicans retain control of the Congress after the next election, told reporters at the Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday that Congress should make privatizing Social Security its top priority in 2007.  The statement led to a flurry of comments from key leaders who oppose privatization.  "McCrery spilled the beans about a topic Republicans have avoided discussing in the 2006 elections," AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said.  He continued, "The American people made clear they don't want to replace Social Security's guaranteed benefits with risky private accounts that would force drastic cuts in middle class benefits and saddle future generations with trillions in federal debt."  Alliance President George J. Kourpias echoed, "When the House Republican in charge of Social Security says that privatization will be a top priority next year, we are reminded that this is a bad idea whose time has come but has unfortunately not gone away."  Now head of the House Ways and Means Committee's Social Security panel, Rep. McCrery is considered the front-runner to preside over the full committee next year, following the retirement of current Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA). 

Elimination of Part D Enrollment Penalty Not a Done Deal
According to Congress Daily PM, the Grassley-Baucus bill to eliminate the penalty for those who sign up after May 15 for the Medicare Part D drug benefit is encountering "obstacles to quick passage."  The bipartisan list of co-sponsors of the legislation has grown to 38, but some senators have objected to a motion to clear the bill by "unanimous consent."  Under this parliamentary procedure, a request to expedite proceedings is rejected if even one Senator objects.  Senate leaders do not appear ready to schedule the bill for a vote right away.  Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), along with House GOP leaders, wants to review enrollment numbers for the Medicare drug plan from the period that ended May 15.  Under Medicare Part D, seniors who sign up after May 15 have to wait until the next enrollment period in November and would pay premiums that are 7 percent higher than normal for life.  House leaders say they also want to analyze enrollment data before considering eliminating the penalty.  "There's a chance Congress will take another shot at seniors by declining to waive the penalty," said Edward Coyle, the Alliance Executive Director.  "Perhaps some elected officials were not content merely to lay out a costly, confusing drug plan and follow it with a 7% surcharge."

Attempt to Repeal Estate Tax Blocked
The New York Times reported that Senate Republicans were unable on Thursday to gather the votes necessary to abolish the estate tax on inherited wealth, but supporters of a compromise still hope for a deal this year that could attract enough Democrats to pass.  Voting 57 to 41, mostly along party lines, the Senate was three votes short of the number needed to end debate on the bill and move it forward.  The vote was a blow to the Republican goal of eliminating the tax on large estates altogether.  The estate tax currently affects less than 1 percent of families, and it is the most progressive tax in the country, because its impact is almost entirely on the nation's wealthiest families.  Democrats argue that repealing the estate tax would provide a windfall to the richest families and widen the federal budget deficit at the same time the nation's baby boomers reach retirement age.  The cost of repeal could top $1 trillion, if the interest expense of bigger deficits is taken into account.  Under current law, which was part of President Bush's tax cut package of 2001, the estate tax is set to decline and eventually disappear in 2010, resuming in 2011. 

Protectors or Predators?
With an estimated 400,000 adults living under court-appointed guardianship, reports of abuse are on the rise, ABC News reported this week.  Judges assign a paid guardian - called a conservator - to adults, sometimes without their knowledge, when they are unable to manage their own affairs due to age or disability.  In this largely unregulated industry, conservators are given control of nearly every aspect of the lives of those they are hired to assist, including finances.  Complaints against paid guardians are abundant, leading some guardians to be charged with theft, negligence and incompetence.  One 88-year-old widow lost $200,000, partly in bills for home improvements she did not want.  "It's atrocious that a professional guardian would take advantage of their vulnerable victims," said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance.  "What's more appalling is the fact that only four states require guardians to be certified.  Regulation and tougher laws for this industry should be a priority for local legislators."

Citizens' Health Care Working Group Releases Interim Recommendations
The Citizens' Health Care Working Group (CHCWG), which has been traveling the country soliciting feedback from Americans about the country's health care needs, has released its interim recommendations.  In the past 15 months, the Working Group has held 6 hearings, 31 community meetings, and events in more than 50 communities across the nation, while documenting over 10,000 responses to Internet polls.  The Working Group, which was created as part of the Medicare Part D legislation in 2003, will submit a set of final recommendations to Congress and the President following a 90-day public comment period on the interim recommendations.  The 2003 law requires the president to comment and five congressional committees to hold hearings.  Some of the interim recommendations include access to affordable health care for all Americans and a guarantee of financial protection against very high health care costs.  To see additional recommendations and learn more regarding CHCWG, visit http://www.citizenshealthcare.gov/.  Those wishing to comment on the interim recommendations may do so by August 31.

Did You Know?
A joint study by Kaiser Permanente; the University of California, San Francisco; and Harvard University, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that capping the drug benefits paid by insurance companies at $1,000 did not save any money on total medical costs, due to costlier health problems that developed later (courtesy of the Wall Street Journal).

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