Friday Alert   July 27, 2007
Alliance for Retired Americans
888 16th Street, N.W. -  Washington DC, 20006 - (202) 974-8222 - www.retiredamericans.or

Alliance Members Mobilize As Medicare Advantage Legislation Moves
Alliance members sent more than 800 e-mails to their Members of Congress in just the first 24 hours of being asked last week to help stop overpayments to Medicare Advantage (MA) insurance companies.  Alliance retirees also came through with hundreds more e-mails and phone calls as the week continued.  “Many thanks to all who took the time to contact their Members of Congress,” said Alliance president George J. Kourpias.  “Our members always come through when we ask them to contact their elected officials before key votes, and their actions are widely noticed around Capitol Hill.  Please continue to e-mail your representatives, or call them at 1-800-828-0498.”  Facts about MA to mention when calling: that it costs 12 to 19 percent more than health care would be under traditional Medicare; that it increases the Part B premiums of all beneficiaries, including those who are not in MA plans; and that it jeopardizes the fiscal health of the Medicare program.  In addition, there have been cases of fraudulent enrollment and misrepresentation of benefits and erratic quality across plans.

On Wednesday the Alliance endorsed H.R. 3162, “The Children’s Health and Medicare Protection Act of 2007,” to address those concerns.  House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-NY) introduced the bill.  The Ways and Means Committee approved the bill at 2 a.m. this morning.  As of press time, the Energy and Commerce Committee was still meeting, because Republican members are employing delay tactics such as forcing the entire 466-page bill to be read aloud before the committee can consider it.  “It is outrageous that obstructionist tactics are stopping both Medicare reform and the expansion of children’s health care coverage in this bill,” said Edward Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance.  “We must double our efforts to ensure passage.”

Actions in Florida last week show why MA reform is needed now.  More than 11,000 beneficiaries of a MA plan offered by America's Health Choice Inc. in Vero Beach have learned that the government terminated their private plan due to deficient quality, the first MA plan to end for quality-of-care reasons.  Beneficiaries were transferred retroactively to a MA plan offered by UnitedHealthcare.  They will have 90 days to join traditional Medicare or choose a different private plan.  “This is exactly why Congress needs to stop overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans.  It’s time to end corporate welfare for inferior service,” said George Kourpias.

Medicare Turns 42 on July 30
The Medicare Advantage issue comes as seniors celebrate the 42nd anniversary of Medicare on Monday, July 30.  Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, the Medicare program has helped millions of seniors enjoy good health for decades longer than they otherwise might have.  Noting the irony of insurance companies now benefiting from a program aimed at seniors, Edward Coyle remarked,  “I can think of no better way to honor Medicare’s 42nd anniversary than by ending this corporate welfare and returning Medicare to its original mission – helping retirees afford their health care and prescription drugs.”

Insurance Companies Using Fake Grassroots Effort
A group backed by big insurance companies has undertaken a new effort to scare seniors, whose traditional Medicare plans they are undercutting, into helping it protect huge insurance company profits received from expensive MA plans.  America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a major lobbying group for big insurance, has developed a television ad campaign and “Six-Point Medicare Advantage Mobilization Plan” to convince seniors to fight upcoming legislation on MA on the corporations’ behalf.  They plan to bring seniors to Washington, D.C. to meet with Members of Congress, and will send automated calls to all participants encouraging them to contact their legislators and oppose cuts to MA.  The plan calls for insurance company staff to call their beneficiaries, using “personal relationships” to spur action from seniors.  “To use insurance agents and the trust seniors have placed in them in an overtly political manner is deceptive and despicable,” said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance.

Big Drug Companies Take Tax Breaks, Continue to Cut Jobs Anyway
Two years ago, big companies who brought their tax sheltered, international profits back to the United States received a massive tax break, in exchange for promising to reinvest some of these returns into jobs and production in America.  But, according to a recent report in The New York Times, drug companies have not held up their end of the deal.  After being considered the program’s greatest beneficiaries and paying only minimal taxes on $100 billion in foreign profits, the pharmaceutical industry has cut thousands of jobs since 2005.  Pfizer has been the leader in both takings and layoffs, receiving a tax break on $36 billion in profits while cutting about 8,000 jobs in 2006 and announcing layoffs for another 10,000 workers.  Additionally, the drug manufacturers have resumed scuttling their profits through offshore loopholes, avoiding much of the 35 percent tax owed on their $60 billion in profits last year.  Eli Lilly, the sixth-largest pharmaceutical company in America, paid U.S. taxes on less than 6 percent of its $3.4 billion in 2006 profits.  Lilly, which avoided a more than $2.3 billion payment to the IRS through the 2005 tax amnesty, has cut 8 percent of its workers since the beginning of 2005.

George Kourpias Honored at Transportation Conference
In Las Vegas this week, delegates to the 2007 Transportation Conference celebrated George Kourpias’ work on the Northwest Airlines Board of Directors.  The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) and Northwest Airlines each presented tributes to Mr. Kourpias, who was unable to attend the conference due to an illness.  Speakers noted his work on behalf of thousands of employees at Northwest Airlines and the many hats that he has worn since his early days in Sioux City, Iowa.  Mr. Kourpias served on the Board from 1997 until the airline emerged from bankruptcy this past May.  IAM President Tom Buffenbarger and General Secretary Treasurer Warren Mart accepted the presentations on Mr. Kourpias’ behalf.

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Alliance for Retired Americans 815 16th St, NW Washington, DC 20006 www.retiredamericans.org