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Friday Alert
Friday, July 3, 2009(Allliance for Retired Americans)
Senate Panel Questions Private
Insurers' Credibility, Shows Need for a Public
Plan
As the public health plan
option, adamantly opposed by insurers, is
considered in the Senate, the Senate Commerce
Committee released a report last week exposing
greedy and dishonest acts by insurance
companies. The report showed the
industry's obvious motives to profiteer at the
expense of sick people. Senate Commerce
Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller
IV (D-WV) released the findings as
part of a multi-pronged assault on the
credibility of private insurers and as evidence
of the need for a public plan. The
Committee also heard testimonials last week
from three health care specialists, including
the former vice president of communications at
big insurer Cigna. Witnesses stated that
insurers sell "junk" policies that do not cover
needed care. Moreover, insurers have
deliberately instilled confusion upon consumers
by using Ingenix, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth,
in order to systematically underpay for
out-of-network care, placing an additional
burden on many patients who pay higher premiums
in order to use doctors and hospitals outside
their insurer's network. As a result,
consumers have paid billions of dollars in
medical bills that were supposed to be paid by
insurers. "We must create a public
plan. Private insurers cannot be allowed
to continue turning their backs on the sick
costumers who need them most desperately," said
Barbara J. Easterling,
President of the Alliance.
Alliance Leaders Attend Obama Health
Care Event
Ms. Easterling and
Alliance executive board member Rev.
Louis B. Jones, II attended a
town hall meeting hosted by President
Obama on Wednesday at the Northern
Virginia Community College in Annandale,
VA. The President used the event to rally
the public behind his health care agenda. The
school and the White House Office of Public
Engagement chose the approximately 200 people
included in the audience, who consisted of
students, administrators, professors and
members of the local community. "I told
the President that the Alliance's 3.5 million
members are mobilized and have been educating
seniors about his health care reform effort,
and he was deeply appreciative," said Ms.
Easterling.
Additional Health Care Reform
Financing Details Emerge
Senate
Finance Chairman Max Baucus
(D-MT) announced last Thursday that his
committee has pared the cost of its health care
package, although Republicans on the panel
remain skeptical. According to Roll
Call, Baucus told reporters that the
Congressional Budget Office had scored a
package of health care reform policy options at
under $1 trillion and deficit neutral.
The package is expected to include just over
$300 billion in new taxes on health insurance
benefits that millions get from their
employers. The leading proposal would tax
as income any premiums exceeding about $17,000
a year, starting in 2013. "Studies show
that putting a cap on tax-free health benefits
will disproportionately hit workers in small
firms and firms with older workers and
retirees. That's because insurance
companies regularly charge higher rates for
coverage for these workers," said Ruben
Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the
Alliance. A final major element of the
financing package is a new penalty for
employers who do not offer health
insurance. One option under discussion is
a "free rider" provision that would require
businesses to help finance coverage for workers
who receive it elsewhere, such as through
Medicaid or other government programs.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions Committee is in the midst of marking
up a more liberal bill, with the process
calling for the two committees' legislation to
be merged. The Finance Committee is set to mark
up its bill after Congress returns from the
July Fourth recess.
Al Franken Ruled the Winner in
Minnesota Senate Race
After nearly
eight months of waiting, Democrat Al
Franken has emerged as the next U.S.
senator from Minnesota, ending a drawn-out
election recount battle. The Minnesota
Supreme Court ruled in favor of Franken on
Tuesday, and his opponent, former Sen.
Norm Coleman (R-MN), conceded
after the ruling. Mr. Franken, 58, a
former comedian and author, could now be seated
in the Senate as early as Monday. In the
Senate, where 60 votes (including those of two
independents) are aligned with the Democrats,
the party now has the potential to avoid
filibusters on key issues. However, two
veteran senators, Robert Byrd
(D-WV) and Edward Kennedy
(D-MA), are ill and have been unable to cast
votes recently. In addition, a handful of
moderate to conservative Democrats have shown a
willingness to break from the party, and
liberals are expected to do so on some issues,
making health care reform still a major
challenge.
Age Survey Looks at "How Old People
Feel"
The older people become, the
younger they feel and the more likely they are
to see "old age" as a time occurring later in
life, according to a national study.
The New York Times reported on the
survey on Wednesday. The Pew Research
Center surveyed approximately 3,000 adults 18
and older via land and cellular telephone lines
in February and March of this year. The
study found that most adults over age 50 feel
at least 10 years younger than their actual
age. One-third of those between 65 and 74
said they felt 10 to 19 years younger, and
one-sixth of people 75 and older said they felt
20 years younger. On average, survey
respondents said old age begins at 68.
However, few people over 65 agreed; they said
that old age begins at 75. Respondents
under 30 said that 60 marks the beginning of
old age. The researchers also asked young
adults what they expect aging to be like and
older Americans how it really is. Younger
people tend to think growing old will be worse
than seniors report, the researchers
found. Older adults said they had
experienced the negative aspects of aging -
including illness, loneliness and financial
difficulty - far less often than younger people
anticipated. But older participants also said
they found less time for family and leisure
activities than younger adults expected they
would when they reach old age.
Greenlee Confirmed as Assistant
Secretary for Aging at
HHS
Kathy Greenlee
was confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Aging
in the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) last week. She is a
longtime ally of HHS Secretary and former
Kansas Governor Kathleen
Sebelius. Greenlee previously
served as Secretary of the Kansas Department of
Aging.