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Friday Alert
Friday, May 30, 2008(Alliance for Retired Americans)
Administration Threatens to Veto
Medicare Bill That Does Not Protect
Insurers
According to the
Associated Press, the Bush administration is
threatening to veto any legislation that
protects doctors' Medicare payments at the
expense of private insurers. Beginning on
July 1, reimbursement rates for doctors will
drop 10.6% when they treat older and disabled
patients participating in Medicare. To
keep that from happening, lawmakers are looking
at finding at least $9 billion in savings from
other Medicare programs over the next five
years. Medicare Advantage private
insurers are at the top of the list for
Democrats and some Republicans to cut, since
they receive generous government subsidies to
serve their 9.5 million beneficiaries.
The veto threat came in a May 22 letter to Sen.
Charles Grassley (R-IA) that
was circulated Thursday on Capitol Hill.
Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) is
overseeing the crafting of Medicare legislation
on the Senate side. His spokeswoman noted
that while the senator was aware of the
administration's concerns, the government pays
about 13% more for patients in Medicare
Advantage than for comparable patients in
traditional Medicare. “The Bush
Administration is putting the interests of
private insurers before those of seniors,” said
Ruben Burks,
Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance.
“Medicare beneficiaries need the doctor payment
issue to be resolved quickly, and veto threats
that protect corporate interests don’t move the
ball forward.”
GOP Senate Candidates May Have a
Hard Time in November
According to
www.rasmussenreports.com and
a column by former Bill
Clinton pollster Dick
Morris in the publication The
Hill, Republican candidates may be facing
“obliteration” in the 2008 general elections
for the U.S. Senate. Polling suggests
that a massacre even greater than the worst of
previous GOP years, 1958, 1964, 1974, 1986 and
2006, is possible. Of the open Republican
Senate seats, Democratic victory seems very
likely in Virginia, where Democratic former
Gov. Mark Warner now has 55%
of the vote, while fellow former Republican
Gov. Jim Gilmore stands at
37%, and New Mexico, where Democratic Rep.
Tom Udall takes 53% to GOP
Rep. Steve Pearce's 37%, and
57% to Republican Rep. Heather
Wilson's 36%. In Colorado,
Democratic Rep. Mark Udall has
a narrow lead over Republican Bob
Schaffer (45-42%). In addition,
three GOP senators trail their Democratic
challengers: Alaska's Ted
Stevens is behind Mark
Begich, 47-45%.
Elizabeth Dole trails
Kay Hagan in North Carolina,
48-47%. And Jeanne
Shaheen is well ahead of John
Sununu in New Hampshire, 51-43%.
Overall, Morris sees a likely Democratic pickup
of five seats, with an eight-seat gain
possible, and, in a partisan wipeout, a 12-seat
shift. Driving the GOP's “imperiled
Senate situation” are President George
Bush’s 28% approval rating and a
massive shift in party identification.
State Alliances Rally Around
Medicare and Social Security
State
Alliances participated in a number of events
this week to call attention to the particular
importance of Medicare and Social Security for
seniors in a poor economy. On Tuesday,
members of the Arizona Alliance for Retired
Americans protested the privatization of Social
Security outside the Phoenix Convention Center,
causing a John McCain
fundraiser originally scheduled to be held at
the site to be moved to a private home
nearby. Alliance members took similar
action on Wednesday in Nevada and Thursday in
Wisconsin, around the same time Senator McCain
held events. Also in Wisconsin, state
Alliance members joined a coalition of
organizations on a conference call with media
on Wednesday to discuss hardships caused by the
ailing economy.
Iowa and Nevada Alliance Events
Educate Fellow Seniors
Members of
the Iowa Alliance for Retired Americans
delivered their 2007 Congressional Report Card
to Rep. David Loebsack’s Cedar
Rapids office on Wednesday, and they are
delivering one to Rep. Leonard
Boswell’s Des Moines office on Friday
(today). The first report card gave Rep.
Loebsack an “A+” for a 100% pro-retiree voting
record during the 2007 Congressional
session. “On issues of importance to
retirees and seniors, Congressman Loebsack had
a perfect freshman year,” said Alliance Board
Member and Cedar Rapids resident Joyce
Hermanstorfer. Added Iowa
Alliance Founding Committee member and Des
Moines resident Don Brown, “As
part of the new Congress, Boswell voted to
improve health care, reduce Medicare drug
prices, and end taxpayer overpayments to
private insurance companies who operate
Medicare Advantage programs. He also
voted to stop oil price gouging and abusive
mortgage practices.” Members of the Iowa
Alliance will deliver 2007 report cards to
other members of Iowa’s Congressional
delegation in the next few days. Earlier
in May, marking Older Americans Month, the
national Alliance released the 2007 voting
record of every U.S. Senator and Representative
on key issues affecting current and future
retirees. The document is available at www.retiredamericans.org.
Last Friday, the Nevada Alliance educated retirees at the Senior Spectrum Senior Fest in Reno. Hundreds of people – including some caught in the Medicare Part D “doughnut hole” - stopped by the Alliance booth to ask questions about such senior issues as assisted living and health insurance. Nevada Alliance Vice Presidents Bill Birkmann and Sam Lumpe, as well as Nevada Alliance Sergeant at Arms George Nelson, participated in the five-hour event.
Southern Regional Meeting is Next
Week
The Alliance will hold its
last regional meeting, the Southern Regional
Meeting, on June 4-5, 2008 in Orlando,
Florida. The meeting will provide a forum
to work with other activists in the region to
learn how to increase grassroots advocacy and
get seniors and retirees registered and
voting. Please call Joni Jones at
1-888-373-6497 or e-mail jjones@retiredamericans.org
for details. The Florida Alliance’s
Annual Convention and Quarterly Executive Board
meeting on June 2-3, 2008, also in Orlando,
precedes the Regional Meeting.
Did You Know…
According
to the American Medical Association, MedPAC,
Congress' advisory commission on Medicare,
found that 30 percent of Medicare patients
seeking a new primary care physician have
trouble finding one (Seattle
Post-Intelligencer).
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