Friday Alert   October 6, 2006
Alliance for Retired Americans
888 16th Street, N.W. -  Washington DC, 20006 - (202) 974-8222 - www.retiredamericans.or

Key House Race Update
Democrats lead Republicans in 11 of 15 races crucial to deciding which party will control the U.S. House of Representatives, according to poll results released on Wednesday by Reuters.  Democrats hold leads in the battles for open seats being vacated by Republican Representatives Jim Kolbe (AZ), Bob Beauprez (CO), Henry Hyde (IL), and Thelma Drake (VA).  Republican incumbents Chris Shays (R-CT), Chris Chocola (R-IN), Mike Sodrel (IN), Charles Taylor (NC), Heather Wilson (R-NM), Jim Gerlach (PA), and Thelma Drake (VA) also currently trail their challengers.  GOP incumbents Rob Simmons (CT) and Geoff Davis (KY), however, have leads in their races, and GOP challengers are also leading in the contests to replace Reps. Jim Nussle (IA) and Mark Kennedy (MN).  The Democrats would need to gain 15 seats on November 7 to win control of the House, and the fifteen races polled by Reuters are considered by many to be some, but not all, of the Republicans' most vulnerable seats.  In the wake of Florida Rep. Mark Foley's scandal and resignation last week, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) told a leading conservative that he would resign as the top congressional leader if it would help his party keep control of the House following the elections.  After Congress went home to campaign last week without fixing Medicare Part D, Alliance Executive Director Edward Coyle remarked, "The Congress that forgot seniors needs to be replaced.  November 7 can't come soon enough."

Know Your Voting Rights
The Alliance website home page has a new "Voter Rights" section, which includes guidelines for volunteering to be a poll watcher on Election Day, as well as new rules for voting in Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin.  For example, in Wisconsin, a new law allows each voter to generate a complete, permanent paper record when voting with an electronic voting machine.  For additional voter rights advice, go to the League of Women Voters website, and click on the "5 Things You Need to Know Card."

U.S. Customs to Stop Seizing Canadian Medicines
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency announced this week that they will halt their 11-month-old policy of aggressively seizing prescription drugs imported through the mail from Canada.  The agency publicly stepped up their confiscation efforts last November, around the time enrollment for Part D began.  Customs agents intercepted roughly 40,000 packages of prescription drugs, spiking the seizure rate to 20% of U.S. shipments from Canadian mail-order pharmacies, up from 3% to 5% previously.  While it is still illegal to import prescription drugs from Canada, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials will focus their efforts only on counterfeit and illegal drugs.  In addition to this announcement, President Bush signed a Homeland Security appropriations bill this week that included a prescription drug re-importation provision allowing U.S. residents to transport personally as much as a 90-day supply of FDA-approved medication from Canada.  However, that provision excludes packages sent by mail.  "While the timing of this popular measure is a bit suspicious, with the GOP desperate to take this away as a campaign issue, it is a step in the right direction," said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance.

Medicare Part D From Entirely Different Points of View
A study released recently by Wolters Kluwer Health, a global provider of drug and medical information services, found that 16 percent of those who fell into the doughnut hole this year have chosen to stop taking their prescriptions for non-chronic illnesses.  According to a Republican Policy Committee document, however, which describes the doughnut hole as a "split deductible," the Medicare Part D design "is actually very thoughtful and has the best interests of seniors in mind."  The Committee found that Part D combines two key benefits - a basic savings benefit as well as a catastrophic insurance benefit.  "I find the disconnect between the Republic Policy Committee document and the Wolters Kluwer report deeply troubling," said George J. Kourpias, President of the Alliance.  Last week, federal officials proclaimed the rollout of Medicare prescription drug plans for 2007 as good news: low premiums, more choices and better coverage.  But many health care advocates and consumer advocates have a different view.  According to USA Today, the lowest premiums, sought by healthy seniors who join the program to avoid future penalties, will rise exponentially.  Additional choices mean that beneficiaries in all but two states will have to choose from more than 50 plans.  And most of the "gap coverage" offered will be for generic drugs only.  For these and other reasons, millions of seniors and people with disabilities are being urged to re-examine the plan they chose for this year and compare plans again.  Enrollment begins Nov. 15 and ends December 31, 2006 for 2007.

Alliance Activities Across the Country
The calendars of Alliance state chapters are filling up quickly.  Last week the Connecticut Alliance gathered angry protesters and rallied outside the office of Rep. Nancy Johnson.  This week, retiree activists across Ohio held a Social Security protest at the office of Rep. Deborah Pryce in Columbus and a Medicare press event at the office of Sen. Mike DeWine in Toledo.  The New York State Alliance is sponsoring six Congressional Town Hall Meetings around the state for candidates to discuss Medicare, Social Security and other retiree issues.  Additionally, both the New York State and Minnesota Alliances will hold their conventions next week.  Activists in the Washington, D.C. area who would like to phone bank on Friday, October 13 are invited to e-mail araorganizing@retiredamericans.org, or call either Maryland/DC organizer David Waugh at 202-607-5631 or Mary Johnson in Field Support at 202-637-5361.

Alliance Thanks Ally for Lifelong Dedication
Peter Wyckoff, the Executive Director of the Minnesota Senior Federation since its inception in 1973 and a friend of the Alliance, has announced that he will retire at the end of this year.  Mr. Wyckoff's contributions to securing economic and social justice for retirees everywhere have included a special commitment to the legalization of the safe re-importation of prescription drugs.  An endowment fund in his honor will be launched this fall.  The Alliance wishes him the best.

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