Friday Alert   December 21, 2007
Alliance for Retired Americans
888 16th Street, N.W. -  Washington DC, 20006 - (202) 974-8222 - www.retiredamericans.or

Budget and Medicare Bills Passed: Implications for Seniors
Before leaving Washington, for a holiday recess, Congress increased funding for Social Security and protected physicians from receiving cuts in their Medicare payments, but did not stop the overpayments made to Medicare Advantage plans. Monday night, the House approved a $515.7 billion domestic spending measure, 253 to 154. The funding level included for the Social Security Administration (SSA) in the measure is $150 million over the President's budget request – and $451 million over the FY 2007 level of funding.  Language in the bill will also provide SSA with the ability to address the backlog in handling disability claims. Tuesday night, the Senate passed a $555 billion omnibus budget bill to fund the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year.

Also on Tuesday, the Senate sent the House legislation that would temporarily protect physicians from a scheduled cut in their Medicare payments, while extending funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) through March 2009.  “The Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007,” S. 2499, would grant physicians a 0.5 percent increase while delaying a scheduled 10% pay cut for six months.  To attract Republican support and avert a veto, the $6 billion package would be funded with relatively uncontroversial Medicare cuts.  Democrats had long eyed Medicare Advantage (MA) private insurance plans, which are paid by the government at higher rates than traditional Medicare, to pay for a bill. But according to Congressional Quarterly, a White House veto threat - backed by Senate Republicans - forced Democrats to give up on almost all their early priorities for the legislation, including an ambitious expansion of SCHIP, a longer-lasting shield against cuts in Medicare payments to doctors, and the reduction of MA overpayments. The cost of the measure would instead be offset in part by taking money from a "stabilization fund" meant to pay private insurers for offering new services to beneficiaries in areas with few Medicare services. “It looks like we will have a government spending bill, Medicare legislation, and SCHIP funding,” said George J. Kourpias, President of the Alliance.  “But it would have been so much better if Senate leaders had been able to pass the Medicare Advantage cuts they wanted, so seniors could stop subsidizing insurance companies.”

Senators Demand Full List of Worst Nursing Homes be Made Public
Last week, nine U.S. Senators signed a letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt, demanding public access to names of all of the nation’s most troubled nursing homes. As mentioned in last week’s Friday Alert, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently identified 54 Americans nursing homes as among the worst in their areas, calling them “special-focus facilities.” According to the Des Moines Register, these facilities were selected from a more comprehensive list of 128 homes that do not consistently comply with government health and safety requirements. The letter was signed by Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Barack Obama (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Evan Bayh (D-IN), Bernard Sanders  (I-VT) and Ron Wyden (D-OR). Separately, Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) also called for the full list of names to be released. “It is always in the best interest of seniors to have the most information possible when making health care decisions,” said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance.

Less Than Three Months Until First Regional Conference
In less than three months – March 24-26, 2008 - the Alliance will hold its first regional conference of 2008 in Las Vegas, NV. The Western Regional Conference will offer members an opportunity to work with other activists in the region to set the course for the Alliance and a country that cares about workers, retirees and their families. Attendees will learn how to get seniors and retirees registered and voting, increase grassroots advocacy and educate federal, state and local legislators on issues like prescription drugs, Medicare, Social Security and retirement security. For copies of the official registration form for any of the four regional conferences, call 1-888-373-6497, email Joni Jones at jjones@retiredamericans.org, or visit our website at www.retiredamericans.org. Locations and dates for later conferences are:  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. 

Maryland/DC Alliance President Bruce Dunton Wins Human Rights Award
Bruce Dunton, President of the Maryland/DC Alliance for Retired Americans, was recently honored for his “remarkable work in the field of human rights” by the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area. In addition to his work with the Alliance, Dunton was recognized for his wide contributions to “worker rights, human welfare, human rights, and health care issues” through the Maryland Commission on the Aging, UNITE-HERE Mid-Atlantic Seniors, National Capital Area Union Retirees Club, and United Seniors of Maryland. Also receiving an award was Elaine Newman, vice president of the National Capital Area Union Retirees Club and a delegate to the Metro Washington Council, AFL-CIO, for “promoting worker rights and health care.”

Alliance Loses a Friend in Congress, Rep. Julia Carson
Rep. Julia Carson (D-IN), 69, a champion of seniors’ causes since her first election to Congress in 1996, died of lung cancer at her home in Indianapolis on Saturday.  “We will certainly miss Julia Carson greatly.  She had a 100% lifetime voting record with the Alliance; she was a strong advocate for protecting Social Security and Medicare, and she always stood firm in her beliefs,” said Elmer Blankenship, a friend of the congresswoman and President of the Indiana Alliance.  “Rep. Carson was also known for feeling at-home with her constituents, often recognizing people in the audience, even if they were not a big dignitary.”  The Alliance’s Social Security “Truth Truck” stopped in her district and thanked her for strengthening Social Security in 2005.

Did You Know ...
Federal and state expenditures will account for 47% of U.S. healthcare spending in 2007 (Los Angeles Times).

THE NEXT FRIDAY ALERT WILL BE PUBLISHED ON JANUARY 4, 2008.  HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

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