Friday Alert
Friday, January 8, 2010(Alliance for Retired Americans)
Senate and House Iron Out The
Differences in Their Health Reform
Bills
Senate passage of its version
of health reform legislation on Christmas Eve
completed a historic year in Congress and in
the nation's domestic policy debate. The
House and Senate will still have to resolve
important differences in their bills this month
before they can send a final bill to President
Obama. Whether to tax
health benefits to fund coverage for the
uninsured; whether to create a public insurance
health plan option to hold down health costs
and keep insurers honest; and how to address
the "doughnut hole" gap in prescription drug
coverage are three top issues. Instead of
a formal conference committee, the process will
involve leaders shuttling the measure back and
forth, until both chambers have agreed to the
same text. Democratic leaders believe
that many Senators and Representatives would
use a formal conference to delay, not improve,
health care reform. Both the House and
Senate bills provide more affordable coverage
for retirees and seniors. They each
provide cost relief for early retiree coverage:
a new re-insurance program will pick up 85% of
the cost of treatments between $15,000 and
$90,000 for retirees ages 55-64. They
also offer a $500 immediate increase in the
Medicare drug allowance; a phased closing of
the doughnut hole, during which seniors have to
pay 100% of drug costs; and a 50% cut in the
price of brand name drugs for seniors in the
doughnut hole until the gap is
eliminated. On Monday, the Alliance
signed onto a letter from the Leadership
Council of Aging Organizations, a broad
coalition of seniors groups, urging Senators to
close the gap as quickly as possible.
Both bills would also contain costs in a variety of ways. For instance, they would reduce over-payments to private Medicare Advantage plans by $135-$170 billion over ten years; eliminate co-payments for preventive care, thereby lowering the odds of a more expensive, catastrophic illness down the line; and ultimately reduce the federal deficit by approximately $130 billion over ten years. Both bills prohibit denial of coverage or higher rates due to pre-existing conditions and ban annual or lifetime limits on claims payments by insurers. They also reduce age-based variation in premium rates. Differences between the bills include whom to tax and how many people to cover. The Senate wants to tax higher-end health plans valued at over $8,500 for most individuals and $23,000 for couples, raising $150 billion. For retirees, the amounts are higher: $9,850 for individuals and $26,000 for family coverage. However, the House wants to increase income taxes on the wealthiest Americans – a plan the Alliance considers fairer. "While the final version is unlikely to include all that we have been fighting for, I believe our grassroots efforts have helped immensely in building political support," said Barbara J. Easterling, President of the Alliance.
Alliance in New England: Help with
Hearing Aids in NH, Health Care Panel in
Conn.
The New Hampshire Alliance
for Retired Americans celebrated on Wednesday
as the 400-member NH House voted to require
insurance companies to cover part of the cost
of hearing aids. HB 561 requires
state-registered insurance companies to cover
$1,500 of hearing aid expenses over three
years. With the most effective devices
costing up to $5,000 each, the NH Alliance had
worked for months to pass the bill.
Medicare does not cover hearing aids, meaning
many seniors on fixed incomes use ineffective
hearing aids or go without them. NH
Alliance President Charlie
Balban said, "It's so important that
we give seniors the opportunity to hear
properly. Hopefully the state Senate will
pass this much-needed bill."
Yesterday in Hartford, Connecticut, a "Seniors to Seniors" coalition gathered at a local restaurant to discuss health reform implications for seniors. Over 150 seniors heard from expert panelists, including Connecticut Alliance field organizer Mary Elia.
Linda Chavez-Thompson is Running for
Lieutenant Governor in Texas
This
past Monday, Linda
Chavez-Thompson announced that she is
running for the Democratic nomination for
Lieutenant Governor of Texas. She served
as Executive Vice-President of the AFL-CIO from
1995 until 2007 and is Vice Chair of the
Democratic National Committee.
New Presidents for Maryland-DC and
Puget Sound Alliance Chapters
Maria
Cordone, who gave 41 years to the
International Association of Machinists and
Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) in a variety of
roles - including the last 12 years as
director of the IAM Community Services &
Retirees Department, before retiring at the end
of 2009 - has been elected new President
of the Maryland-DC Alliance. In addition,
Robby Stern was elected to a
two-year term as Puget Sound Alliance for
Retired Americans (PSARA) president on December
17. An activist in labor and social
justice issues for more than 40 years, Stern
chaired the Healthy Washington Coalition for
six years until last month and served on the
PSARA Executive Board.
Former NCSC President
Eugene Glover Passes Away
Eugene
Glover, 86, President of the National
Council of Senior Citizens for five years
beginning in 1989, died in Ellicott City,
Maryland on December 18 of complications from
diabetes. He had been Secretary-Treasurer
of the IAMAW beginning in 1989. "Gene was
pivotal in influencing President
Clinton to launch the campaign
for national health care coverage in the
1990's, and he was a warrior in the fight
against Newt Gingrich and
Bob Dole to preserve
Medicare," said Edward F.
Coyle, Executive Director of the
Alliance. "He will be missed
greatly."
Sign Up Now for the Alliance's
National Convention in Las Vegas
Mark your calendar for April 5-8, 2010 to
attend the Alliance's National Convention in
Las Vegas. 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.