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Friday Alert May 25, 2007
Alliance for Retired Americans
888 16th Street, N.W. - Washington DC, 20006 - (202)
974-8222 - www.retiredamericans.or
Rep. Stark Takes on Insurance
Industry
The House Ways and Means Health
Subcommittee held a hearing on Tuesday on private Medicare
Advantage fee-for-service plans, leading Congress one step
closer to cracking down on private insurance companies.
Rep. Fortney "Pete" Stark, (D-CA) chairman of
the subcommittee, warned that private fee-for-service plans
(PFFS) could face curbs, most likely in Medicare reform
legislation planned for some time this summer. The plans
frequently offer coordinated disease care and disease management
services not available with traditional Medicare plans offered
by the government. But lawmakers say the government pays
companies an average of 19 percent more per beneficiary than it
pays for traditional Medicare services, according to
CongressDaily. Members of Congress who wish to
rein in the plans say that they charge the government inflated
prices while sometimes using misleading marketing tactics to
entice vulnerable seniors into signing up. During the
House hearing, witnesses told lawmakers that high payment rates
and a lack of government oversight have led to a kind
of "gold rush" by companies. Chairman Stark advised that as
Congress looks to improve and protect Medicare, "all provider
payments must be reviewed and are subject to change." He
added, "Given what we know about PFFS at this time, they're at
the top of my list" for planned Medicare reimbursement
reductions. Cuts could come as part of a broader bill
decreasing Medicare physician payments and increasing consumer
protections under the program's Part D prescription-drug
benefit, congressional aides said. "Part D favors
insurance companies over seniors, and anything we can do to
reverse that is a step in the right direction," said
George J. Kourpias, President of the
Alliance.
What Older Women Should Know About
Cervical Cancer Prevention
Women age 65 and
older account for nearly 25 percent of all cervical cancer cases
and 41 percent of cervical cancer deaths in the United
States. Yet, testing for human papillomavirus (HPV), the
virus that causes this deadly disease, is not covered by
Medicare. The Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), in
partnership with the National Council of Women's Organizations,
has launched an awareness campaign during Older Americans Month
to increase women's awareness of cervical cancer and HPV and
preventive options. Fact sheets are available at: www.cluw.org/OlderAmericans.html.
Medicare to Release Hospital Comparisons
for Heart Problems
Next month, the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will release the first
widespread comparison of heart attack and heart failure death
rates on its new "Hospital Compare" website, www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov.
Reviewed by USA Today, the analysis includes more than
4,000 hospitals and highlights those with the best and worst
performance compared to the national average. Visitors to
Hospital Compare will find a grid with check marks indicating
whether a hospital has scored higher, lower or on par with
national 30-day death rates. CMS officials hope the public
report cards will shame high-risk hospitals into improving
conditions overall. Under previous measures, hospital
performance for the 800,000 people seeking emergency room
treatment for heart attacks and 400,000 Medicare patients
hospitalized with chronic heart failure each year had been
determined by whether patients received all necessary
treatments. The new reports ensure factors such as long
emergency room wait times and lack of communication between
doctors are not overlooked.
Many Men Rely on Wives for Medical
Attention
Wives often push their husbands to
see doctors long before they think they need medical attention,
and are frequently the first to notice subtle changes in their
husbands' health, the Wall Street Journal reported
earlier this month. Since females tend to have more
contact with pediatricians, obstetricians and gynecologists,
they also regularly ask for advice and referrals that their
husbands do not. But because they tend to wait, men are
more often diagnosed with more serious and difficult to treat
later stage diseases, with serious implications for both
spouses. According to the U.S. Administration on Aging,
seven in ten female baby boomers will outlive males, and over
half of the impoverished elderly widows living today were not
poor before their husbands' death. "All seniors can
benefit enormously from a partner's good medical advice," said
Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the
Alliance. "The economic factor is obviously secondary in
these cases."
Alliance Travel
On
Wednesday, Alliance Executive Director Edward F.
Coyle addressed retirees at the Coalition of Black
Trade Unionists (CBTU) convention in Chicago. CBTU, an
early proponent of scrutinizing the consequences of
globalization, "has gained prominence by helping to close the
gaping disparity of wealth, power and living standards
throughout the world, especially in African and Caribbean
countries," according to Mr. Coyle.
Convention
Reminder
In just over three months -
September 4-7, 2007 - the national Alliance will be holding its
Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. The theme this
year is "Building for America's Future." Send your
registration by July 20, 2007, to take advantage of the early
bird rate. The registration fee is $80; after July 20th
the registration fee is $95. To obtain copies of the
official registration form, either call 1-888-373-6497, email
Joni Jones at jjones@retiredamericans.org
or visit our website at www.retiredamericans.org.
The conference will be held at the Hilton Washington and
Towers. Hotel reservations must be made by calling the
Hilton and Towers directly at 1-888-324-4586. Be sure to
ask for the Alliance for Retired Americans National Convention
attendee rate. The discounted room rates are $146 a night
(plus tax) and are guaranteed until July 20, 2007.
Did You Know...
June
22 marks the start of the biennial Senior Olympics, held this
year in Louisville, Kentucky. According to the Wall Street
Journal, about 12,000 athletes age 50 and older will
compete in 18 sports and more than 800 events, including
cycling, swimming, and track and field.
Become part of a progressive grassroots movement!
Join the Alliance: www.retiredamericans.org/join
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Alliance for Retired Americans 815 16th
St, NW Washington, DC 20006 www.retiredamericans.org
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