Friday Alert
Friday, December 18, 2009(Alliance for Retired Americans)
Health Reform Will Not Include
Medicare Buy-in for Those 55-64
A
week ago, a compromise Senate deal on health
reform nixed a public insurance option and
replaced it with provisions letting those 55 or
older buy into Medicare and allowing nationwide
nonprofit private plans overseen by the federal
Office of Personnel Management. Sen.
Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), who
opposes the public option, seemed to be in
agreement. By last Sunday, however,
Lieberman had changed his mind. According
to The Boston Globe, the Medicare
buy-in became as objectionable to him as the
public option. His explanation for the
flip-flop is that expanding Medicare would add
to the federal deficit, but he came to this
conclusion before the Congressional Budget
Office had done its analysis. Senate
Democratic leaders have now laid out an
ambitious timetable for passing the health care
bill on Christmas Eve. To be successful,
the plan assumes Majority Leader Harry
Reid (D-NV) will have three key
elements before the weekend: the bill's cost
estimate from the Congressional Budget Office;
the legislation completely written and
available to the public; and assurance from all
60 members of his caucus that they will vote
for the package. "There will be good
things for seniors in the Senate bill.
However, the House bill is far superior, and we
will work tirelessly to include specific pieces
from the House, like the public option, and to
exclude the Senate's excise tax on higher-cost
insurance plans, when the bill gets to
conference committee," said Barbara J.
Easterling, President of the
Alliance. She continued, "The Senate bill
includes some relief for plans with early
retirees as well as delivery system reforms
that may lead to lower costs in the long
run. And Senate leaders have made a
commitment to close the Medicare prescription
drug doughnut hole, which is so important to
seniors. The Alliance continues to insist
that employers pay their fair share, and that
genuine health care reform must bring down
health costs, hold insurance companies
accountable, and assure that Americans can get
the health care they need."
On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate voted against an amendment to loosen prescription drug importation rules as part of the health care bill. The measure had been sponsored by a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME). However, it fell short of the 60 votes needed for approval - the final tally was 51 in favor, 48 opposed. Click on http://bit.ly/91ulsQ for the complete results of the vote. Dorgan criticized an alternative amendment, sponsored by senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, both New Jersey Democrats, and Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE), as inadequate, because it would only allow the importation of drugs if the federal government's health secretary certified they were safe and lowered costs. This amendment also fell short of the 60 votes needed for approval; the vote was 56 in favor, 43 opposed. Those results are available at http://bit.ly/7TU0Ut. Since last Friday, Alliance members had sent more than 3500 letters to all Senators urging them to vote in favor of the Dorgan-Snowe amendment.
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, Graham
Dewsbury, Mary Elia, Gary Gaines, Norman
Kaiser, John Mendolusky, Catherine Porter,
Martin Walsh, and Norm
Wernet 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. Also, New Hampshire
Alliance President Charles
Balban described the benefits of
health reform to retirees in a notable
Nashua Telegraph op-ed, available at
http://bit.ly/656Kid.
Sign Up Now for the Alliance's
National Convention in Las Vegas
Mark your calendars for April 5-8, 2010 to
attend the Alliance's National Convention in
Las Vegas, where we will kick off our
grassroots efforts for the 2010
elections. Details about the conference
are posted on the Alliance's home web page, www.retiredamericans.org; 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. Hotel
reservations must be made by contacting Bally's
Las Vegas directly at 1-800-358-8777.
Profile in Courage: Fern Osborne
Fern Osborne, Executive Vice
President of the Colorado Alliance since its
founding, passed away this week. Fern's
dedication to activism around senior issues and
advocacy on behalf of her community was an
inspiration. In a 2007 news profile, she
said about her tireless activism: "I'm working
so that by the time you become my age, you
won't have to go through this." News
highlights are available here: http://bit.ly/6TQeFi.
Colorado Alliance President Vivian
Stovall said, "Fern has been the
senior advocate here. We thought that she
would outlive all of us." Ms. Stovall
added, "She is absolutely irreplaceable."
This Monday, December 21st, Colorado Governor
Bill Ritter and the Colorado
legislature will issue proclamations in honor
of Fern Osborne, to be followed by a memorial
reception with family and friends.
Did You Know...
The
Alliance is a member of Seniors to Seniors, a
coalition of senior citizen advocacy
organizations committed to educating seniors
about what the current health care reform
legislation means for them once it is
implemented. The coalition's goal is to help
filter through the clutter and hype to educate
seniors about how health care reform will help
keep doctors in Medicare, stop physician
payment cuts, improve long-term care choices,
keep Medicare affordable, and close the
prescription drug "doughnut hole." To
learn more, go to http://seniorstoseniors.org.
EDITOR'S NOTE: THE NEXT FRIDAY ALERT WILL BE PUBLISHED ON JANUARY 8, 2010. HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY FROM THE ALLIANCE!