|
Friday Alert April 16, 2007
Alliance for Retired Americans
888 16th Street, N.W. - Washington DC, 20006 - (202)
974-8222 - www.retiredamericans.or
Medicare Showdown in U.S. Senate: Take
Action Now
On April 12, the Senate Finance
Committee voted 13-8 in favor of a bill, S. 3, removing the
prohibition on Medicare negotiating price discounts with the
pharmaceutical companies. It would also force drug plan
providers to reveal currently secret pricing data to government
watchdogs. Pressured by a multi-million dollar lobbying
campaign, some Senators are planning a filibuster to block the
bill when it reaches the Senate floor this week.
Additionally, the White House is threatening a veto. In
January, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation
mandating Medicare price negotiations. "This is the moment
of truth for Senators and for President Bush:
do they stand with seniors struggling to afford their drugs, or
do they stand with the big drug companies who want to keep their
sweetheart deal going," said Alliance Executive Director
Edward F. Coyle. Alliance members are
urged to call the U.S. Capitol beginning today at 1-877-331-1223
to be connected to their Senators and voice their support for
the bill. In addition, a pre-written letter on which
members can simply click, then fill in their names and addresses
and send electronically to their Senators will follow by e-mail
later today. That letter is available now at www.unionvoice.org/campaign/S3negotiation.
CEO Pay at the Big Drug Companies: It's
Enough to Make You Sick
So where does your
prescription drug money go? According to SEC data just
released, a lot of it is going straight to the CEO. The
head of Wyeth took home $32.8 million in 2006. A few
others: Abbott Laboratories, $26.9 million; Pfizer, $19.4
million; and Baxter, $13.5 million. 2006 was also a very
good year to be the CEO of an insurance company:
Prudential $25.7 million; Cigna, $21.0 million; and Aetna, $19.8
million. "Is it any wonder why Americans pay the highest
drug prices in the world? These CEOs ought to be ashamed
of themselves for profiting so handsomely off seniors who need
their prescription drugs," said Alliance president
George J. Kourpias. More information can
be found at the AFL-CIO's new website, www.paywatch.org.
Patient Illiteracy Can
Kill
Miscommunications between patients and
health care providers are increasing the chances that people who
need medical care will be hurt or killed in the process,
according to a report from a health care accreditation group in
USA Today recently. While cultural and language
barriers pose problems for patient-doctor communication, poor
general literacy skills can be just as great an impediment,
according to The Joint Commission, which accredits nearly 15,000
U.S. health care organizations and programs. The report's
recommendations include encouraging a culture of
easy-to-understand communication. "When literacy collides
with health care, the issue of health literacy - defined as
the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain,
process, and understand basic health information and services
needed to make appropriate health decisions - begins to
cast a long patient safety shadow," the Joint Commission report
states. Those with literacy issues come from all walks of
life; however, educational level, nativity, socio-economic
status, and elderly age are all potential indices of low health
literacy. The report, noting that medical information is
often filled with jargon, said that even those who are most
proficient at using text and numbers might be challenged when
feeling sick and vulnerable.
Coming Soon: More Affordable Biotech
Drugs?
According to a New York Times
piece earlier this month, senior members of Congress from both
parties are working "feverishly" on legislation that could give
consumers access to lower-cost copies of biotechnology drugs
that now cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars a
year. Consumer groups, employers and insurers are lobbying
for the bill, which they see as a way to hold down health costs,
but the proposal faces opposition from the pharmaceutical
industry. Biotech medicines are the fastest-growing
category of health spending, with sales of $40 billion last
year, up 20 percent from 2005, according to IMS Health, a market
research company. More than 400 biotech products are in
the pipeline, for more than 100 diseases, including cancer,
AIDS, diabetes and Alzheimer's. Conventional drugs are
synthesized by putting atoms together from basic chemicals and
are often in pill form. Biotech drugs, also known as
biologic products, "are typically proteins made by modifying the
DNA of bacteria, yeast or mammal cells, and they are often given
by injection or infusion." Rep. Henry
Waxman (D-CA) is pushing a House bill that would
authorize the Food and Drug Administration to approve safe,
lower-cost versions of biotechnology drugs. Senators,
meanwhile, are seeking a balance that is more protective of
brand-name drug makers. "Even a moderate drop in price
would save seniors hundreds of millions of dollars nationally,"
said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the
Alliance.
Affordable Health Insurance for Alliance
Members
Please remember that affordable
insurance to supplement Medicare is available to Alliance
members through the ARA Retiree Health Plan. The Retiree
Health Plan Annual Open Enrollment period is underway now
through June 30, 2007! During this period,
Medicare-eligible retirees and their spouses are guaranteed
acceptance with no waiting periods regardless of pre-existing
health conditions. Visit www.araretireehealth.com
for further details or call 1-866-298-9117 to receive your Free
Retiree Health Information Kit and your open enrollment
application. No agent will call you - everything is handled
through the mail.
Moving Multiple Times Before Settling on
a Place to Retire Not Uncommon
There used to
be two kinds of people in retirement -- those who stayed home
and those who did not, according to a recent article in the
Wall Street Journal. Now, there's a third
category: nomads who relocate when they retire, then pick up
stakes a few years later and move again and again. This
"wanderlust" may stem from the growing prevalence of
decades-long retirements; a higher comfort level with moving
among corporate employees who spent their careers being
transferred from city to city; an increasing number of retirees
with the wealth to move around; and the lure of a better place
to live. Some downsides to the multiple moves included
unforeseen politics with the new homeowners association,
difficult drives to get to a hospital, and not having enough
zoning protections in place in the new locale to slow future
growth.
Become part of a progressive grassroots movement!
Join the Alliance: www.retiredamericans.org/join
Alliance for Retired Americans 815 16th
St, NW Washington, DC 20006 www.retiredamericans.org
|
