Friday Alert
Friday, November 20, 2009(Alliance for Retired Americans)
Reid Presents Health Care Bill That
Cuts $130 Billion from the Federal
Deficit
Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid (D-NV) presented an
$848 billion health-care overhaul package on
Wednesday that would help Americans of all ages
better afford to see a doctor and get a
prescription filled. An analysis of the
Senate bill, the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act, by the nonpartisan
Congressional Budget Office determined that it
would cut federal deficits by $130 billion over
the next decade. "Our nation's retirees
need lower prescription drug prices, the
ability to get life-saving preventive
screenings and tests, and an end to the
Medicare Trust Fund-draining subsidies to the
private insurance companies who run Medicare
Advantage programs. Senator Reid's bill
offers solid progress in these important
areas," said Edward F. Coyle,
Executive Director of the Alliance. "We
are also pleased to see bill include a public
option." Sen. Reid said on Tuesday that
he remained cautiously optimistic that he could
get the Senate's 58 Democrats and 2
independents to vote to thwart a filibuster on
what is known as a motion to proceed, the
initial step in any debate. On Thursday,
he said that first crucial vote on the overhaul
package would likely take place on
Saturday. Approval relies largely on the
votes of three wavering moderate Democrats:
Senators Ben Nelson of
Nebraska, Mary Landrieu of
Louisiana and Blanche Lincoln
of Arkansas.
House Acts to
Prevent Drastic Cuts in Medicare Payments to
Doctors
Also on Thursday, the House
approved a $210 billion measure - known as the
"doc fix" - that will adjust Medicare payment
rates to doctors, avoiding a 21% cut in January
and continuing cuts in the years ahead. A
cut of that magnitude could reduce access to
physicians for Medicare beneficiaries
throughout the country. The bill, H.R.
3961, is companion legislation to H.R. 3962,
the House-passed health care reform bill.
H.R. 3961, which passed by a vote of 243-183,
will also allow older Americans the ability to
keep their choice of doctor. Complete
results of the vote are available at http://bit.ly/4hYNYx.
A report requested by Republicans and released on Saturday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services drew attention from health reform critics this week. The report questioned the expected savings from the House-approved health care overhaul. However, CMS's analysis is not an apples-to-apples comparison to the cost estimate conducted by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), because CMS did not review tax provisions, which help offset the price tag of the Democrats' measure. It is certain that the House health care reform bill will extend the life of the Medicare Trust Fund by five years, significantly longer than any other recent proposal. The legislation will also cut out-of-pocket spending by more than $200 billion by 2019. "We must separate fact from fiction to avoid being alarmed unnecessarily," said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. "Overall, national spending on health care would increase by less than 1.3% over the next decade with the House bill, even though millions of additional people will gain coverage. Without health care reform, health care costs are expected to rise at rates double that of inflation, growing every year as a larger share of the Gross National Product." To learn more facts about the financial benefits of H.R. 3962 to retirees, go to http://bit.ly/jV9Ml.
Rising Drug Costs in Face of Health
Reform
The New York Times
reported early this week that the drug industry
has been raising its prices at the fastest rate
in years - this year by 9%. The rise has
caused speculation about price increases in
advance of health reform legislation.
Those increases will add more than $10 billion
to the nation’s $300 billion drug bill this
year, and led Democrats in Congress to request
two investigations of drug industry pricing [http:///] on
Wednesday.
On the Road: West
Virginia
On Thursday, Alliance
President Barbara J.
Easterling joined West Virginia
Alliance President Spud Terry
and active retirees at their annual membership
meeting. Easterling urged WV retirees to
set the record straight and not be divided when
it comes to health reform, saying, "Through it
all, my fellow retirees, we need to stay
together. We need to keep reaching out to
retirees from community-based groups.
Together, we can be partners in change."
Retirees with the Write Stuff: Write
Letter, Win Pen
"Retirees with the
Write Stuff" is an Alliance project recognizing
retirees whose letters to the editor are
published. Most recently, Kathy
Breeden, James Brown,
Bob Dougherty, Earl
Frampton, Patricia
Gooden, John Harris,
Owen Humphress,
Charlie Lemon,
Beatrice Lumpkin, John
Newman, Terry
Schleder, and William
Stevens contributed to their state and
local papers. If you have had a letter
published recently, please send us an email at
letters@retiredamericans.org
so that we can recognize you and send you a
"Write Stuff" pen.
Las Vegas Convention Sign-up Details
Now Available!
Mark your calendars
for April 5-8, 2010 in order to attend the
Alliance's National Convention in Las Vegas,
where we will kick off our grassroots efforts
for the 2010 elections. New details about
the conference are now posted on the Alliance's
home web page, http://araorchid.orchidsuites.net/;
to learn more, simply click on "2010 National
Convention" or go to http://bit.ly/1jIzz2.
Register for the convention directly from that
page, or by calling 1-888-373-6497. We
will have workshops and training sessions to
strengthen our organizing and advocacy skills,
and will hear from leading experts in public
policy, health care and aging, and the
media. Alliance members will elect a
president and secretary-treasurer, and
community members will elect six
community-based board members. To vote in
the Alliance elections, conference attendees
must be members of the Alliance by December 5,
2009. Hotel reservations must be made by
contacting Bally's Las Vegas directly at
1-800-358-8777.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the Thanksgiving
holiday, the next Friday Alert will be
published on December 4, 2009. Have a
Happy Thanksgiving!