Friday Alert   May 11, 2007
Alliance for Retired Americans
888 16th Street, N.W. -  Washington DC, 20006 - (202) 974-8222 - www.retiredamericans.or

Senate's FDA Bill Will Not Allow Consumers to Re-import Prescription Drugs
By a vote of 93 to 1, the Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new power to police drug safety, regulate advertising and restrict the use and distribution of medicines found to endanger consumers.  However, "drug company executives succeeded in their efforts to block a proposal to legalize imports of lower-priced medicines from Canada," the New York Times wrote on Thursday.  Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-VT) cast the lone "no" vote, saying he was extremely disappointed that the bill did not legalize re-importation.  Sen. Byron Dorgan's (D-ND) proposal to allow consumers to import prescription drugs from abroad was modified and adopted, but lawmakers and advocates agree that in its current form, the drug importation proposal will never take effect.  Sen. Dorgan's amendment was approved in a voice vote.  In spite of this, lawmakers voted 49-40 in favor of an amendment from Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) that required assent from the Secretary of Health and Human Services for the provision to go into effect, effectively killing re-importation.  "The Alliance for Retired Americans is all for rigorous safety standards when it comes to prescription drugs.  Where we draw the line, however, is shamefully using those standards as a shield to keep drug company profits sky-high," said Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance.

On Mother's Day, Give 'Em Health
OWL, the voice of midlife and older women, released its annual Mother's Day report this week at a Capitol Hill press conference with several members of Congress.  Give 'Em Health, Revisited: Medicare-for-All illustrates the ways midlife and older women are especially at risk for lack of health care coverage.  The report provides a scathing overview of what is wrong with the current health system including the one-third of total health care expenditures that go to pay for administration, the tripling of profits over five years of the top seven U.S. health care insurers, and the exorbitant salaries of pharmaceutical company CEOs.  Yet 47 million Americans have no health insurance, including 15 percent of women age 60-64.  OWL concludes the report by endorsing a Medicare-for-All plan that would provide health care insurance coverage to all Americans without requiring new taxes or fees.  The report is available at: www.owl-national.org .

Alliance Joins the National Quality Forum
The Alliance this week has been accepted into membership of the National Quality Forum (NQF). The NQF is a more than 350 member organization established by federal law to set national priorities and goals for health care quality improvement through performance measurement and public reporting.  NQF endorsement of health care measurements, practices, and guidelines are seen as a "gold standard" in the field.  "Membership in the NQF is another recognition of the Alliance as a leader in the health care field," said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance.  The Alliance will sit on the NQF Consumer Council.

Drug Needs of Mentally Ill Seniors Going Unmet
Many mentally ill, low-income seniors are worse off under Medicare's new prescription drug benefit than they were under Medicaid, according to new research announced last week.  The American Psychiatric Association said in CQ Today that insurers participating in the Medicare Part D drug benefit are denying people many medicines for mental illness that the government says they should cover.  The result, according to the association, has been increased hospitalization of low-income, mentally ill seniors and increased observations of suicidal and violent behavior and homelessness.  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) told insurers that they must cover "all or substantially all" of the drugs included in two broad classes of psychotropic medicines under Part D: antidepressants and antipsychotics.  But the requirement is not set in law: It is merely part of "guidance" that CMS issues to insurers.

Illinois-Iowa Alliance Event Takes Aim at Sen. Grassley's Drug Position
Alliance members participated in a press conference and rally in front of Sen. Charles Grassley's (R-IA) Davenport, Iowa office on Thursday.  The event occurred in coordination with the release of a report by the Quad Cities Alliance for Retired Americans, together with "Working Families Win," Iowa Citizen Action Network (an affiliate of U.S. Action), and Progressive Action for the Common Good.  The report shows that Iowa and Illinois taxpayers would have saved $1.6 billion a year in prescription drug costs if the federal government were directed to negotiate Medicare prescription drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.  On April 18, the U.S. Senate failed to get enough votes to limit debate and allow a vote on S. 3, the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2007.  Sen. Grassley was a leader in creating the stalemate that prevented price negotiation from moving forward.  "Senator Grassley had the opportunity to do the right thing.  It was a clear choice.  But he chose to protect the interests of the drug company lobbyists," said Quad Cities Alliance for Retired Americans leader Jim Hughes.  "We are calling on him to reconsider his position, so that next time he stands with us."

Seniors Hit Hard by Bankruptcies
Personal bankruptcy filings by people 55 and older are growing faster than those by any other age group, in part because of rising mortgage debt and medical expenses among seniors, a study published recently in The Washington Post concludes.  The government researchers compared personal bankruptcy records from 1994 with those in 2002.  In that time span, personal filings doubled, to more than 1.5 million.  The credit industry used that growth to persuade Congress to pass legislation in 2005 that makes it harder for individuals to wipe out debt through bankruptcy.  The portion of the population aged 55 or older grew from 29.2 percent in 1994 to 30.1 percent by 2002, an increase of 3.1 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  However, the study found the portion of this age group that filed for bankruptcy protection grew from 9.6 percent in 1994 to 14 percent in 2002 -- a 45.8 percent jump.  The findings come as other studies show older people increasingly rely on home-equity loans and credit cards to pay for medical expenses.  "I wish the government would get health care costs under control and prevent some of these circumstances from reaching this point," said George J. Kourpias, President of the Alliance.

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