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Friday Alert April 25, 2008
Alliance for Retired Americans
888 16th Street, N.W. - Washington DC, 20006 - (202)
974-8222 - www.retiredamericans.or
Call to Action for Low-Income
Medicare Beneficiaries is Coming Soon
The
Senate is moving quickly to craft a bill that will address a
scheduled cut in Medicare payments to physicians, and the bill
is also likely to include other Medicare changes. At a
meeting with doctors earlier this month, Senate Finance
Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) outlined a
package of Medicare legislation that would delay for 18 months a
10% Medicare physician payment cut that is scheduled to take
effect July 1, CQ Today has reported. The measure
would prevent the cuts until 2010 and could also increase
payments by 1.1%. The bill would cost about $8.4 billion
over five years; halting the cuts without the increase would
cost about $8 billion. The legislation is expected to
reach the Senate floor in early May. Alliance members will
be asked to weigh in on this legislation. A message will
be spelled out that urges Senators to include benefits for
low-income seniors, not just providers, and to curb subsidies
for Medicare Advantage private insurance plans. The
Alliance will be providing: a letter you can e-mail to your
Senators; a toll-free call in phone number; suggested talking
points; and details concerning which Senators are being
targeted. “This could be a tough fight, but it is
also an excellent opportunity for Alliance members to be
heard,” said George J. Kourpias,
President of the Alliance.
More Geriatric Health Care
Providers Will be Needed as Baby Boomers Grow
Older
The Medicare legislation that is being
considered follows the release of a report stating that the
number of older patients with complex health needs increasingly
outpaces the number of health care providers able to adequately
care for them. An Institute of Medicine committee released
the report, Retooling for an Aging America, Building the
Health Care Workforce, last week. The report says
that the nation faces an impending health care crisis when the
78 million baby boomers soon begin turning 65. The
institute, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, also
reported that there are not enough specialists in geriatric
medicine; that sufficient training for health care providers is
unavailable; and that the specialists who currently exist are
underpaid. It stated further that Medicare may even hinder
seniors from getting the best care, due to: low reimbursement
rates; a focus on treating short-term health problems rather
than managing chronic conditions; a lack of coverage for
preventive services; and a lack of coverage for health care
providers' time spent collaborating with a patient's other
providers. The report found there are about 7,100 doctors
certified in geriatrics in the United States, one per every
2,500 older Americans. While today's seniors tend to be
healthier and live longer than previous generations, people over
65 often have health care needs that are more complex than those
who are younger.
Older Voters Play Key Role in
Presidential Primaries
Older voters played an
important role in Pennsylvania’s Democratic presidential
primary on Tuesday, which was won by Sen. Hillary
Clinton (D-NY). The state is second only to
Florida for the greatest proportion of residents over 65, and
58% of registered Democrats are over 45, an age that has
been a dividing line in the race. According to The
New York Times, age has been a more reliable predictor of voter
choice than gender, income or education; race has been the only
stronger indicator, and then only if the voter is
African-American. Seniors have consistently favored the
60-year old Clinton over Sen. Barack Obama
(D-IL), age 46. Exit polls conducted by Edison/Mitofsky in
the primary states before Pennsylvania have shown 57% of voters
65 and older supporting Clinton, with 36% supporting
Obama. The reverse was true for those under 30, with 59%
for Obama and 38% for Clinton. “Older voters are the
most consistent group to show up at the polls,” said
Edward Coyle, Executive Director of the
Alliance. “No matter who wins the Democratic
nomination, we will continue to vote with full force in November
to elect a President who truly cares about seniors.”
Senator Baucus Speaks Out
Against Social Security Privatization
In
response to a report on Social Security reform released last
week by the Treasury Department, Senate Finance Committee
Chairman Baucus reiterated that privatization
is still not a solution. The fourth in a series of briefs
on the issue, Social Security Reform: Mechanisms for
Achieving True Pre-Funding, available at www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/reports/ss_issuebrief_no.4.pdf,
details proposals that would divert a portion of current
workers’ Social Security payroll taxes into private
accounts. “President Bush's private
accounts plan would increase debt held by the public by $5
trillion over the first 20 years in operation,” said
Baucus. “I am convinced that private accounts are a
bad idea, and examining this report only confirms my view.
I will do everything I can to make sure that private accounts
are not enacted into law.” Added Ruben
Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance,
“Americans have spoken loudly and clearly against
privatization – we defeated Bush’s plan once, and
will ensure Social Security remains the reliable safety net that
it was intended to be.”
Midwestern Regional Meeting
Just Around the Corner
The national Alliance
will hold its third regional meeting of 2008 next week, April
28-29 in St. Louis, Missouri. The Midwestern Regional
Conference 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. Join us to set the course for the Alliance and
for a country that cares about workers, retirees and their
families. For copies of the official registration form for
either of the remaining regional conferences, call
1-888-373-6497, email Joni Jones at jjones@retiredamericans.org
or visit www.retiredamericans.org.
The Southern Regional Meeting, the last of the four, will take
place on June 4-5, 2008 in Orlando, Florida. The Western
Regional meeting took place in March, while the Northeastern
Regional Meeting took place earlier this month.
Did You
Know...
The Employee Benefit Research
Institute’s 2008 survey, conducted in January, recorded
the sharpest one-year decline ever in the public’s
confidence about having a financially secure retirement (FOX
Business News).
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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