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Friday Alert December 7, 2007
Alliance for Retired Americans
888 16th Street, N.W. - Washington DC, 20006 - (202)
974-8222 - www.retiredamericans.or
Alliance Members Protest
Medicare Advantage Private Insurer Subsidies
On Tuesday, the White House delivered a
"stern" letter to senators writing a year-end Medicare bill,
threatening a veto if lawmakers do not comply with their demands
to continue subsidizing private insurance companies at current
levels. According to CQ Today, one White House
demand is that the legislation use only cuts to Medicare
providers, such as hospitals or nursing homes, to pay for one of
the bill's most expensive provisions, instead of using money
that currently goes to health insurance companies paid to run
private Medicare plans, known as Medicare Advantage. The
centerpiece of the bill is a proposal to stop a 10 percent cut
in Medicare's physician pay rates, scheduled for January.
But physicians have threatened to stop taking as many Medicare
patients if their rates are slashed. Members of the
Alliance for Retired Americans, together with the National
Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, held a press
conference on Tuesday on Capitol Hill, urging the Senate to cut
the giveaways to insurers. Alliance members held up $2
bills to demonstrate the extra premium paid each month by
Medicare beneficiaries due to excessive payments to the
insurers, and the seniors also delivered 48,000 petitions
calling for reduced subsidies. Sadie
Coleman, Vice President of the Maryland/DC Alliance and
an enrollee in traditional Medicare, spoke about her personal
fear of Medicare privatization. According to the
Congressional Budget Office, the Medicare Advantage plans
receive reimbursements roughly 12 percent higher than
traditional fee-for-service providers, amounting to nearly $150
billion over 10 years. "While each $2 bill may seem minor
on its own, the total cost is significant. And so is the
total effect on seniors," said Edward Coyle,
Executive Director of the Alliance.
Fewer Drugs to be Covered
Under Medicare Part D in 2008
According to
USA Today, the 10 largest Medicare Part D insurers will
carry an average 26% fewer drugs next year. Some
beneficiaries will see decreases of more than 1,000 prescription
drugs covered. While most beneficiaries will be able to
keep their current prescriptions through an appeals process or
find an alternate treatment, 2.1 million low-income seniors
receiving Medicare subsidies may be affected. These
beneficiaries will be automatically switched to new insurers in
2008. An analysis of Texas plans for program enrollees
found that these seniors will have access to 14% fewer drugs
than their current providers will offer in 2008.
Additionally, the new plans will require prior authorization on
50% more drugs than their current policies will require next
year. "Medicare officials cited reasons including drugs no
longer being manufactured or being considered 'less than
effective' by the Food and Drug Administration, but their
explanations do not explain all of the reductions," said
Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the
Alliance.
Another SCHIP Deadline Coming
Next Week
With prospects for expanding the
State Children's Health Improvement Program (SCHIP) looking
unlikely, lawmakers expect Congress to pass a long-term
extension of the existing program instead. Democrats want
to expand the program by about $35 billion over the next five
years, enough to cover 10 million children, up from about 6
million today. President Bush has vetoed
one SCHIP bill (H.R. 976) and is expected to veto a second,
largely identical measure (H.R. 3963). Negotiators have
been aiming to create a third SCHIP bill that might draw a dozen
or so new House Republican votes - enough to override Bush's
veto. According to Congressional Quarterly, House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has given
negotiators until the end of this week to reach a deal.
Otherwise, Democrats intend to pass a simple long-term
extension, lasting until the end of the fiscal year. SCHIP
is currently operating under a continuing resolution that
expires on December 14. After that, the program would have
no new money in fiscal 2008.
State Alliance News from
Rhode Island and California (CARA)
The Rhode
Island House and Senate voted to override Governor
Donald Carcieri's (R) veto of "Rhode Island's
Best Rx" Program on October 30. The program will permit
tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders - many of whom are
older and face the Medicare Part D "Donut Hole" - with the
opportunity to purchase prescription drugs at considerable
savings. The override was the culmination of a three-year
effort by groups including the Rhode Island Alliance, the Rhode
Island AFL-CIO, and the Teamsters Local 251 Retirees
Chapter. In addition, the California Alliance - a member
of Eminent Domain Reform Now, a coalition of seniors, tenants'
rights advocates, and others who support eminent domain
reform - recently shared in reaching an important
milestone. The coalition submitted more than a million
signatures, qualifying the Homeowners Protection Act for the
June ballot in California. The Act would prohibit
government agencies from taking homes through eminent domain in
order to transfer them to a private party. "Thank you to
Alliance members in these states, as well as in many other
places not mentioned, who have made such a big difference in
people's lives," said George J. Kourpias,
President 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.
Did You
Know...
Retirees who left work cold turkey
are as happy as those who retired gradually, according to a
recent study by the Boston College Center for Retirement
Research (Chicago Tribune).
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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