Friday Alert

(Alliance for Retired Americans)

Florida Alliance's Delray Beach Health Care Forum Draws Worldwide Attention
Fourteen hundred activists, most of them in favor of health reform, gathered on Thursday in suburban Delray Beach, Florida for a health care forum with Democratic U.S. Reps. Robert Wexler (D-FL) and Alcee Hastings (D-FL).  Deluged with calls for weeks, the Florida Alliance made its annual public panel a ticketed event.  That meant the 500 seats and more than 200 people making up the overflow crowd inside the auditorium were mostly Alliance members.  Hundreds of others remained outside.  Florida Alliance President Tony Fransetta required questions in writing, avoiding the screaming matches that have disrupted town halls across the country.  Saying "retirees have a lot to gain from health care reform," Alliance President Barbara J. Easterling told the audience of South Florida seniors that national health insurance reform, "will make it easier for retirees to see a doctor, get a prescription filled, and afford long-term care."  She continued, "I know that many older people are scared and confused, fearful of the change that health reform may bring.  But this isn't because they are bad people.  They are scared and confused because lobbyists and places like Fox News are spending millions of dollars – and spreading millions of lies – to preserve the status quo."  The forum drew attention from the national and worldwide television stations CNN, MSNBC, and Al-Jazeera, National Public Radio, several local television news stations, and such South Florida newspapers as the Miami Herald, South Florida Sun Sentinel, and the Palm Beach Post, as well as other media outlets.  About 70 sheriff's deputies were on hand to keep the peace.

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Trumka Draws Line in the Sand on Public Option
Richard Trumka, Executive Vice President of the Alliance and Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO, warned in an interview last weekend in Pittsburgh that "labor may pull its support from Democrats who don't fight for a government-run insurance plan."  He said that the AFL-CIO is drawing a line in the sand when it comes to a public option in the health care bill, and he repeated the message on Tuesday night on The Rachel Maddow Show.  Meanwhile, a group of progressive members of the House of Representatives also made it clear on Monday that they will not support a health care bill that doesn't include a government run option for insurance coverage.

Health Insurance Reform Legislative Update
The White House and Senate Democratic leaders, seeing little chance of bipartisan support for their health-care overhaul, are considering a strategy shift that would break the legislation into two parts and pass the most expensive provisions solely with Democratic votes.  According to The Wall Street Journal, some Democrats hope a split-the-bill plan would speed up a vote and help President Obama meet his goal of getting a final measure by year's end.  Most legislation in the Senate requires 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, but certain budget-related measures can pass with 51 votes through a parliamentary maneuver called reconciliation.  In recent days, Democratic leaders have concluded they can pack more of their health overhaul plans under this procedure, congressional aides said.  They might be able to include a public insurance plan to compete with private insurers, but that remains uncertain.  A separate vote would likely set new rules for insurers, such as requiring that they accept anyone, regardless of pre-existing medical conditions. This portion of the health-care overhaul has already drawn some Republican support and would not involve new spending, encouraging some Democratic leaders to believe it could clear the 60-vote hurdle.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is the key decision-maker on whether to use the tactic, but White House officials are also involved in the talks.  Privately, those in the know now say there is a 60% chance the split-bill tactic will be used.  The likelihood of a strategy shift has grown after the negative response of Republicans to overtures of compromise.  However, the idea of using reconciliation angers even such moderate Republicans as Sen. Olympia Snowe (ME).  House committees have passed bills that include a public option and new programs that would make insurance available to most Americans who lack it.  If the Senate passes its own bill, the two chambers must hash out a compromise that could go to the president for signing.  The public option could be the biggest point of contention between the House and Senate. 

Polls Reveal Some of the Myths that People Believe About Health Reform
Several polls out this week confirm facts that may have been merely suspected earlier.  According to SurveyUSA Health Care data, gathered using questions from NBC News/The Wall Street Journal, 77% of Americans think it is important to have the choice of a public option in a health reform proposal.  Another poll, using questions from the same sources, sought to find out about health care misconceptions.  That poll found that Fox News viewers were overwhelmingly more likely than CNN/MSNBC viewers to believe untrue information about health care reform.  By margins of 31%, 40%, and 45%, respectively, Fox News viewers were more likely to believe erroneously that health reform would give coverage to illegal immigrants; lead to a government takeover of health care; and stop care for seniors.  Finally, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 45% of Americans believe that the country as a whole would be better off if Congress passed health care reform, as opposed to 34% who think it would be harmed.  "Without all the lies, I could guarantee you that an even greater majority would be in favor of reform," said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance.

Alliance Activity Across the Country
Standing tall for health insurance reform in other parts of the country as well as Florida, Alliance members took part in at least 30 events in more than a dozen states this week.  Events included panel discussions, town hall meetings with members of Congress, and coalition protests joined by other senior advocacy organizations.  On Wednesday, Barbara Easterling; Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance; some staff from the national Alliance; and several Alliance state leaders were on a strategy call with senior White House officials for an update for retiree leaders on the health care campaign.  At the Nevada Alliance for Retired Americans (NARA) convention last week, NARA expressed strong support for health care reform that includes a public option, as well as opposition to an age rating in setting health insurance premiums.

Related Documents

• Friday Alert
  Friday Alert