Friday Alert   October 20, 2006
Alliance for Retired Americans
888 16th Street, N.W. -  Washington DC, 20006 - (202) 974-8222 - www.retiredamericans.or

Part D Failures Examined in New Report by Pennsylvania Alliance
According to preliminary results of a study released on Thursday, Pennsylvania seniors enrolled in Part D have yet to benefit from the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003.  In January 2006, the Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans (PARA) launched the Medicare Education Project with a grant from the Labor Education Center at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  PARA assessed the impact of the Medicare Part D drug benefit on seven distinct categories of Pennsylvania seniors, based on how they obtain their medication.  After tracking 62 seniors across the state for six months, the mid-term report has found that Pennsylvania seniors who received their medications through Medicare Part D alone, when compared with seniors getting their drugs through other sources, consistently paid more in drug co-pays and monthly premiums; were subjected to significant coverage gaps; and had significant restrictions on covered medications.  To learn more and read the report, go to the Alliance homepage at www.retiredamericans.org.  "The Medicare Part D program comes with a hefty price tag to taxpayers, currently estimated at $746 billion dollars over the next decade," said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance.  "As taxpayers, as senior citizens, as advocates, we must ask, 'What are we getting for our money?'"

Social Security COLA Increases by 3.3%
According to The Washington Post, Social Security retirement and disability payments to nearly 49 million people will rise 3.3 percent in January to help recipients keep up with inflation.  The government said on Wednesday that the change will boost average monthly Social Security retirement benefits by $33, to $1,044.  More than one in six people in the United States receive federal benefits that will increase because of the annual cost-of-living adjustment.  More than 7 million recipients of Supplemental Security Income, which is provided to low-income people, will also receive 3.3 percent increases.  That change will occur slightly sooner, on Dec. 29.  "For most of America's retirees, Social Security provides two-thirds of their total income," said George J. Kourpias, President of the Alliance.  "That's one of the reasons that privatization is so risky."

Wal-Mart Expands Drug Program
Mega-retailer Wal-Mart announced this week that it will expand its prescription drug discount plan to 14 more states.  Two weeks ago, Wal-Mart stores in Florida began charging a $4 flat rate for a month's supply of 314 generic drugs, many of them the most commonly used medicines.  The plan will now also be offered in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas and Vermont.  However, the fact remains that three-quarters of a million Wal-Mart workers are uninsured or are on public health care, and Wal-Mart passes $1.2 billion in health care costs to taxpayers each year. "Now, more than ever, with Wal-Mart's changes going well enough that they can expand them, the federal government should see that negotiating bulk discounts on prescription drugs can reduce the cost to consumers," said Edward Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance. 

Know Your Voting Rights
According to the New York Times, votes in about half of the 45 most competitive Congressional races, including contests in Florida, Georgia and Indiana, will be cast this year on electronic machines that provide no independent means of verification.  Among the problems already experienced this election year was a set of new electronic voting machines for the visually impaired in Yolo County, California that arrived working only in Vietnamese.  The Alliance website "Voter Rights" section includes guidelines for volunteering to be a poll watcher on Election Day, as well as rules for voting in Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin.  Also in this section of the Alliance website are listings of AFL-CIO "Voter Protection Program" contacts in eight of the key states, in case there are any problems at the polls.  "Election Protection," the nation's largest non-partisan voter protection coalition, provides voter assistance through a toll-free hotline, 866-OUR-VOTE, and through legal field programs in targeted states.  For additional voter rights advice, go to http://www.lwv.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Election_Basics&CONTENTID=6410&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm, at the League of Women Voters website, and click on the "5 Things You Need to Know Card" at the bottom of the page.  The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has also set up a system to collect information and complaints when voters with disabilities have problems with access or voting.  You can contact DOJ at 800-253-3931. 

Alliance Activities and Leadership Travel
Alliance members in states including Arizona, Florida, Indiana, and Pennsylvania expressed their support for congressional candidates at rallies this week, with Ruben Burks attending events in Indiana with former Rep. Baron Hill, who hopes to return to office, and House candidate Brad Ellsworth.  Richard Fiesta, Director of Government and Political Affairs, traveled to Pennsylvania for an event with candidate Joe Sestak.  More events are scheduled for this coming week.  Mr. Burks will attend another event in Indiana with candidate Joe Donnelly.  Alliance President George J. Kourpias travels to Seattle for a membership event with candidate Darcy Burner on Tuesday, then returns to the East Coast for a Connecticut event on Thursday with Chris Murphy, who is challenging Rep. Nancy Johnson.  Edward Coyle will be in Sarasota, Florida with candidate Christine Jennings on Tuesday; in Dayton, Ohio with Senate candidate and U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown on Wednesday; and in San Jose for the California Alliance convention on Thursday and Friday.  Additional events are also planned in California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania for next week.

Did You Know...
The average nursing-home cost for a private room adds up to $75,190 a year, according to a 2006 survey by the Metlife Mature Market Institute.  The average cost for home health care is $55,480 a year for eights hours of daily care.

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