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Friday Alert November 30, 2007
Alliance for Retired Americans
888 16th Street, N.W. - Washington DC, 20006 - (202)
974-8222 - www.retiredamericans.or
Latest Information on
Premiums Can Help Seniors Choose Their Drug
Plan
A new report has just been released by
the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) on the rising
cost of prescription drug plans under Medicare Part D.
CEPR’s report includes a state-by-state breakdown on the
changes in the average Medicare Prescription Drug Plan premium
and deductible from 2007 to 2008. Nationally, the average
premium rose by 24.5 percent, or $57.70. Premiums
increased the most in New Jersey, California, Connecticut, New
York, Rhode Island and Vermont. The full report is
available at www.cepr.net/content/view/1370/8/.
“This information comes at a crucial time, while seniors
are choosing plans for next year,” said Ruben
Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance.
Medicare Advantage
Overpayments Stand in the Way of Other Medicare
Funding
The Senate Finance Committee is
tentatively scheduled to mark up a Medicare package next
Wednesday. According to Congress Daily, the
Congressional Budget Office is evaluating many proposals, some
involving changes to the private Medicare Advantage
program. Several Republican panel members, including
Finance ranking member Charles Grassley (R-IA),
oppose Medicare Advantage cuts. Meanwhile, House members
who wrote a broad set of Medicare changes as part of the State
Children's Health Insurance Program bill are waiting to see if
any of those provisions make it into the Senate Medicare
bill. House provisions most likely to make it into the
Senate package include low-income subsidy expansions under
Medicare Parts B and D as well as other changes to Part D.
Other provisions from the House bill that advocates hope will be
folded into the Senate package involve mental health parity for
seniors, medical screenings and Medicaid payments for adult
daycare facilities. “I hope the House provisions
make it into the Senate bill, but that is not a given,”
said Edward Coyle, Executive Director of the
Alliance.
Western Regional Conference
to be National Alliance’s First of
2008
The Alliance for Retired Americans
invites Western Region members to attend its Western Regional
Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 24-26, 2008. The
meetings will provide a forum to work with other activists in
the region to learn how to increase grassroots advocacy, get
seniors and retirees registered and voting, and educate federal,
state and local legislators on the issues that concern retirees
and seniors, including prescription drugs, Medicare, Social
Security and retirement security. Join us to set the
course for the Alliance and for a country that cares about
workers, retirees and their families. Details for the
other Regional Conferences are as follows: Northeastern
Regional Conference, April 17-18, 2008 in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania; Midwestern Regional Conference, April 28-29, 2008
in St. Louis, Missouri; and Southern Regional Conference, June
4-5, 2008 in Orlando, Florida. To obtain copies of the
official registration form for any of the four regional
conferences, either call 1-888-373-6497, email Joni
Jones at jjones@retiredamericans.org,
or visit our website at www.retiredamericans.org.
Bill Collectors Seizing
Social Security Funds
According to a recent
article in Yahoo! Finance, more and more seniors and
people with disabilities are having their accounts frozen by
bill collectors, despite the federal government’s
expressly exempting funds such as veterans’ benefits and
Social Security from such action. The freezes can leave
seniors without access to their accounts for months at a time;
even in the best cases when the bank and creditors agree a
mistake was made, it may still take weeks to fix the
error. Additionally, some banks are profiting from
non-refundable fees of $100 to $150 for freezing accounts, as
well as overdraft charges when consumers, unaware of the hold,
pay bills. The problem continues to grow with increasing
consumer debt, and new technology making seizing bank accounts
simpler and cheaper than ever before. In September, the
Senate Finance Committee held hearings on the issue, and is
investigating the extent of this problem.
Got a Good Story?
Alliance Seeking Health Care
Spokespersons
The Alliance is working with
the AFL-CIO's "In America No One Should Go Without Health Care"
campaign to identify compelling first-person accounts of people
struggling to afford their health care and prescription drug
needs. Bad experiences with insurance companies are also
welcome. Those interested must be willing to speak with
the media and/or participate in other public events in
2008. For more information, contact us at arafridayalert@retiredamericans.org.
Alliance Charters its 28th
State: New Hampshire!
On November 17th, the
New Hampshire Alliance for Retired Americans (NHARA) held its
founding convention, with members electing John
Mendolusky from the United Food and Commercial Workers
as their President. Speakers included New Hampshire State
AFL-CIO President Mark MacKenzie.
Alliance Executive Vice President Judy Cato and
Government and Political Affairs Director Rich
Fiesta gave an overview of the national
Alliance’s resources. The NHARA also implemented an
annual Tom Deary award called "Fighting the
Good Fight," which was given to NHARA Senior Advisory Committee
member Eva Sartwell.
Iowa Leader Receives Lifetime
Achievement Award
Also on November 17, at a
banquet attended by 500 colleagues, friends, and family members,
Dick Fallow of Davenport received the East
Central Iowa-Northwestern Illinois AFL-CIO Hall of Fame’s
first Lifetime Achievement Award. Among the crowd that
gathered to honor his lifetime of activism were four U.S.
Congressmen he helped to elect - Reps. Bruce
Braley (D-IA), Phil Hare (D-IL), and
David Obey (D-WI), and keynote speaker Rep.
George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House
Education and Labor Committee. The lifetime achievement
award, which will be named after Mr. Fallow if it is ever given
again, recognizes the actions of a retiree who continues his
activism beyond expectations. While officially retiring in
1988, Mr. Fallow continues his work not only with the Alliance,
but also the National Federation of Labor, Quad City Federation
of Labor, International Association of Machinists Local 1191,
and the American Federation of Musicians Local 67.
“I have known Dick for a very long time, and there is no
better advocate for workers and retirees,” said
George J. Kourpias, President of the
Alliance. “He continues to inspire others to work
for change.”
Become part of a progressive grassroots movement!
Join the Alliance
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Alliance for Retired Americans 815 16th
St, NW Washington, DC 20006 www.retiredamericans.org
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