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Friday Alert October 19, 2007
Alliance for Retired Americans
888 16th Street, N.W. - Washington DC, 20006 - (202)
974-8222 - www.retiredamericans.or
SCHIP Veto Override Attempt
Falls Short
By a vote of 273-156, an attempt
to override President Bush’s veto of expanded funding for
the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
failed on Thursday. The tally left Democrats 13 votes
short of the two-thirds majority of 286 needed to override the
third veto of the Bush presidency. Two-thirds of the U.S.
Senate would also have had to vote for the funding in order to
overturn the veto, but 67 Senators had already voted for the
bill, H.R. 976, on September 27. A CBS News poll released
on Wednesday showed that 81% of Americans favor expanding SCHIP,
which provides health insurance for children in families who do
not qualify for the low-income Medicaid program, yet cannot
afford private coverage. Fully funding and expanding the
program would have added $35 billion to the plan over five
years, insuring an additional four million children.
Hundreds of thousands of children will now lose their health
coverage - including basic check-ups and immunizations - when
the program expires on November 15th, unless Congress acts to
extend the program for a few months. Given the rising cost
of health care, current funding is not enough to sustain all of
the children already enrolled in SCHIP. “Thank you to
Alliance members, who contacted their elected officials in
droves, for your dedication and activism on this issue,”
said George J. Kourpias, President of the
Alliance. “We did not fall short for lack of
effort.” In a press release, the Alliance voiced
disappointment that partisan politics had trumped
children’s health care. “This temporary
setback will do nothing to deter our commitment to health care
for all, as we are heartened by the strong inter-generational
solidarity we’ve seen around this issue,” Mr.
Kourpias stated. To see how your Member of Congress voted,
go to http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll982.xml.
Social Security Benefits to
Rise a Little in January
This week, the
Social Security Administration announced that more than 54
million Americans will see a benefit increase of 2.3% beginning
in January. The cost of living adjustment means an extra
$24 per month for the average retired worker, with monthly
checks rising from the current $1,055 to $1,079 in 2008.
Typical retired couples who both receive Social Security
benefits will receive $1,761, up $39 from the current $1,722.
Yearly adjustments are related to inflation, based on prices
from July through September, and the decrease in energy prices
in recent months has resulted in the smallest benefits increase
in four years. “While food and medical costs have
risen steeply this year and oil prices are currently on the
rise, these changes occurred too late in the year to affect the
cost of living raise,” said Ruben Burks,
Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance.
Insurance Industry Sponsors
Faux-Grassroots Effort on Medicare Advantage
America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) has launched a
campaign, including television ads and rallies, attempting to
encourage seniors to tell Congress that cuts to Medicare
Advantage would have a devastating impact on them. In
response to the effort, Alliance Executive Director
Edward Coyle declared, “It is
manipulative and inappropriate for your health care provider to
be helping you lobby. If you don't get in on the campaign,
are you more likely to have your claims denied?” In
related news, the House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee, chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA),
released a report on Monday saying that taxpayers and Medicare
beneficiaries could have saved almost $15 billion in 2007 if
private health insurers had cut expenses for prescription drug
coverage and negotiated bigger discounts. According to
The New York Times, the Medicare prescription drug
benefits offered by private insurers operate with "high
administrative costs, sales expenses and profits," the report
said.
VEBA on the Horizon at
Verizon?
According to Bloomberg
News, AT&T Inc., the biggest U.S. phone company, and
No. 2 Verizon Communications Inc. may follow General Motors
Corp. in trying to shift retiree health-care liabilities to a
union-run fund. The largest U.S. automaker reached an
agreement with the United Auto Workers last month to transfer
$50 billion in such obligations to a Voluntary Employee
Beneficiary Association, or VEBA.
“Telecommunications are the next big group that will be
looking at VEBAs,'' said Howard Silverblatt, an
analyst at Standard & Poor's in New York. Verizon and
AT&T both have a union that may set a precedent for
so-called VEBAs in separate talks with GM that started last
week. The Communications Workers of America's industrial
unit is considering a union-run fund for a GM plant it
represents in Ohio. New accounting rules this year force
companies to add retiree health-care costs as a liability on
their balance sheets.
Health Care Costs Affected by
Corporate Conflicts of Interest
A recent
report by the AFL-CIO Office of Investment reveals directors at
major corporations often have serious conflicts of interest,
influencing the cost of health care. While companies would
be expected to cut benefit costs through policies such as
including generic drugs as part of prescription coverage,
executives at big health insurance and pharmaceutical companies
who are also board members at some of the country’s
largest non-health care related companies may affect
plans. Many have much greater financial stakes in the
health firms, suggesting outside motives that may influence
benefits policies of these other businesses. The report
shows that 21 Fortune 500 companies with substantial health
costs for retirees, employees and dependents have significant
conflicts of interest, with leaders also executives or directors
at a major health or pharmaceutical company. In one case,
the prescription drug Nexium was actively protected and
maintained as part of a health plan by General Motors, while
other corporations substituted less expensive generics.
Percy Barnevik, retired CEO of AstraZeneca, was
a board member and chair of GM’s Policy Committee at the
time.
Nevada Alliance Holds Its
Convention
Edward Coyle,
along with Alliance Executive Vice President Judy
Cato and Director of Government and Political Affairs
Richard Fiesta, traveled to Las Vegas this week
to address the Nevada Alliance’s state convention on
Tuesday and Wednesday. The following officers were elected
to leadership positions at the convention: Scott
Watts, President (re-elected); Amy
Crane, Recording Secretary; and Joetta
Brown, Treasurer.
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Alliance for Retired Americans 815 16th
St, NW Washington, DC 20006 www.retiredamericans.org
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