Medicare

• Statement by Retiree Leader Richard Fiesta on House Speaker Mike Johnson’s Plan for a Debt Commission

  October 25, 2023: The following statement was issued by Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, regarding Speaker Mike Johnson's record of voting against older Americans’ best interests and his announcement that he plans to create a...Read more >

• KFF Health News: Medicare Enrollees Can Switch Coverage Now. Here’s What’s New and What to Consider.

  October 19, 2023: Consumers know it’s fall when stores start offering Halloween candy and flu shots — and airwaves and mailboxes are filled with advertisements for Medicare options. It’s annual open enrollment time again for the 65 million Americans covered...Read more >

• America’s Work Force Union Podcast: Medicare Drug Price Negotiations Continue to Impact Retirees

  September 15, 2023: September 15, 2023 Alliance Executive Director Rich Fiesta joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the fight for Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, the impact on retirees and the need for Social Security expansi...Read more >

• Pleasant Surprise: Medicare’s Per Person Spending Has Stopped Skyrocketing

  September 07, 2023: Spending per Medicare beneficiary has nearly leveled off over more than a decade — but for unknown reasons. The lower per-person cost could have to do with the Affordable Care Act, fewer heart attacks, or the recent lack of new blockbuster treatmen...Read more >

• Alliance Members Spread the Word about the Benefits of Medicare Drug Price Negotiation

  September 07, 2023: Days after the Biden-Harris administration unveiled the list of 10 prescription drugs that will be subject to Medicare price negotiation, Alliance members across the country joined elected leaders and Cabinet officials to inform older Americans about...Read more >

• Retirees Applaud Release of the First Ten Drugs That Medicare Will Negotiate Prices For With Drug Corporations

  August 29, 2023: Statement by Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ release of the first ten drugs that will be subject to price negotiation. “It’s a landmark day for older...Read more >

• KFF Health News: The Real Costs of the New Alzheimer’s Drug, Most of Which Will Fall to Taxpayers

  August 03, 2023: The first drug purporting to slow the advance of Alzheimer’s disease is likely to cost the U.S. health care system billions annually even as it remains out of reach for many of the lower-income seniors most likely to suffer from dementia. Medica...Read more >

• Retirees Concerned on Eve of Medicare’s 58th Anniversary

  July 28, 2023: Washington, DC - Members of the Alliance for Retired Americans are marking the anniversary of Medicare and urging older Americans to be vigilant and ready to fight any attempts to raise the eligibility age or cut their earned health care benefits. ...Read more >

• KFF Health News: New Weight Loss Drugs Carry High Price Tags and Lots of Questions for Seniors

  July 27, 2023: Corlee Morris has dieted throughout her adult life. After her weight began climbing in high school, she spent years losing 50 or 100 pounds then gaining it back. Morris, 78, was at her heaviest in her mid-40s, standing 5 feet 10½ inches and weigh...Read more >

• Senate Budget Committee Holds Hearing on Strengthening Social Security; Rep. Larson Re-Introduces the Social Security 2100 Act

  July 17, 2023: Social Security was in the news this week with Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) holding a hearing entitled, “Protecting Social Security for All: Making the Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share,” and Rep. John Larson (CT) re-introd...Read more >