Friday Alert   November 3, 2006
Alliance for Retired Americans
888 16th Street, N.W. -  Washington DC, 20006 - (202) 974-8222 - www.retiredamericans.or

As Election Day Arrives, Republicans Try Not to Talk About Scandals, Part D
Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday that Republicans are facing a growing number of vulnerable House members as they try to prevent Democrats from gaining control of the House on November 7.  According to The Washington Post, indictments, investigations and allegations of wrongdoing have helped put at least 15 Republican House seats in jeopardy, enough to swing control to the Democrats.  In Senate races, polls consistently show the contests in Missouri, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Virginia to be the closest in the nation, and those four contests will likely decide which party controls the Senate next year.  As Members of Congress defend their seats, few have highlighted their support for the Medicare Part D prescription drug program.  This week, fresh, unflattering news about Part D dribbled out, as Medicare beneficiaries learned they will have to pay substantially more next year for brand-name prescription drug coverage that keeps them from falling into the "doughnut hole." According to a new report by the advocacy group Families USA, average monthly premiums will rise 87 percent, to $103.20, for plans that provide "meaningful coverage" in what otherwise would be a gap in Medicare's prescription drug benefit.  Such coverage also will be harder to find -- 13 states will have no plans offering it in 2007, up from four states this year.  A plan was considered to have "meaningful" coverage if it paid for the top 25 drugs prescribed to seniors, including Lipitor, Prevacid, Zocor and Zoloft.  "The bad news about the doughnut hole has not subsided," said Edward Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance.  "The combination of bad legislation and corruption may be what brings change."

Specific Voting Rights Questions Answered
Election Protection, the nation's largest non-partisan voter protection coalition, provides voter assistance and voter problem reporting through a toll-free hotline, 866-OUR-VOTE, and through legal field teams in targeted states.  Please call that number for information on early voting, absentee ballots, where to vote, or to confirm whether you are registered.  On Election Day, if you encounter problems at the polls, call Election Protection for help and to report trouble.  Please pass the number on to others.  In addition, on Tuesday, November 7, legal teams will be in states to address problems as they arise at the polls.  The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that nearly half of the states have passed laws requiring voters to prove their identity before they can cast a ballot.  The Alliance website's Voter Rights section includes rules for voting, as well as listings of AFL-CIO Voter Protection Program contacts in key states for any problems at the polls.  Please consider volunteering to be a poll monitor on Election Day - guidelines are posted on the same Voter Rights section of the Alliance website.  

Medicare Handbook Said to Mislead
Congressional Democrats say a new government publication being sent to all Medicare beneficiaries inappropriately favors private insurance plans over the traditional government-run program.  The publication "presents a misleading and biased view of Medicare coverage and options," the Democrats said last week in a letter to Michael Leavitt, the secretary of Health and Human Services.  The new handbook, "Medicare and You 2007," begins with a chart comparing the original Medicare program with Medicare Advantage plans such as Health Maintenance Organizations (H.M.O.'s) and Preferred Provider Organizations (P.P.O.'s).  Under traditional Medicare, it says, "your costs may be higher than in Medicare Advantage plans." In private plans, it says that you may get extra benefits, including eyeglasses, hearing aids and dental care.  According to the New York Times, Senators Max Baucus of Montana and John D. Rockefeller IV of West Virginia, and Representatives Sherrod Brown of Ohio, John Dingell of Michigan, Charles Rangel of New York and Pete Stark of California signed the letter to Secretary Leavitt.  The six are the senior Democrats on committees and subcommittees with authority over Medicare.  "The Medicare handbook is not supposed to be biased," said George J. Kourpias, President of the Alliance.  "Congress is right to speak up when the facts are framed to distort."

New Rules on Patient Safety
Despite years of efforts to fix errors in America's health-care system, leading safety experts say improvements have been slow -- and "too many conflicting safety programs may be part of the problem," according to the Wall Street Journal.  Now, a coalition of health-care purchasers, quality groups and government agencies working with the National Quality Forum (NQF), the leading government advisory body on health-care quality measurement and standards, have agreed to endorse a single set of 30 "safe practices" that all hospitals should use to prevent death and injury to patients.  The NQF, which includes groups representing consumers, employers, health-care professionals, health plans and labor unions, will formally issue the new safety practices after a comment period that ends Nov. 14.  The new practices will add several important new protections for patients, such as requirements that hospitals disclose medical errors promptly to patients and families who are affected, and that they evaluate non-nursing staff who care for patients to ensure they are competent to provide safe care.  During shift changes, when the majority of errors occur, nurses are now using more modern methods to communicate.  Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance, said, "100,000 patients die each year from medical mistakes.  Hopefully, these new procedures will cut that number drastically."

Alliance Activities and Leadership Travel
National Alliance leaders traveled this week for events with our members.  George Kourpias went to Bettendorf, Iowa on Wednesday for an event with Iowa gubernatorial candidate Chet Culver.  Mr. Kourpias was in East Moline, Illinois the same day for an event with congressional candidate Phil Hare.  Also on Wednesday, Ruben Burks was in Fort Wayne, Indiana for an event with House candidate Tom Hayhurst.  Edward Coyle was in East Providence, Rhode Island on Thursday for an event with Senate candidate Sheldon Whitehouse and gubernatorial candidate Charlie Fogarty.  Get-out-the-Vote activities are planned all across the country in the coming days as Americans go to the polls on November 7.  Don't forget to vote!  A special election wrap-up/Veterans Day edition of the Friday Alert will be published next week one day early, on Thursday, November 9.

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