Printable Version
November 30, 2007
Friday, November 30, 2007(Alliance for Retired Americans)
Latest Information on Premiums Can
Help Seniors Choose Their Drug
Plan
A new report has just been
released by the Center for Economic and Policy
Research (CEPR) on the rising cost of
prescription drug plans under Medicare Part
D. CEPR’s report includes a
state-by-state breakdown on the changes in the
average Medicare Prescription Drug Plan premium
and deductible from 2007 to 2008.
Nationally, the average premium rose by 24.5
percent, or $57.70. Premiums increased
the most in New Jersey, California,
Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island and
Vermont. The full report is available at
www.cepr.net/content/view/1370/8/.
“This information comes at a crucial time,
while seniors are choosing plans for next
year,” said Ruben Burks,
Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance.
Medicare Advantage Overpayments
Stand in the Way of Other Medicare
Funding
The Senate Finance
Committee is tentatively scheduled to mark up a
Medicare package next Wednesday.
According to Congress Daily, the
Congressional Budget Office is evaluating many
proposals, some involving changes to the
private Medicare Advantage program.
Several Republican panel members, including
Finance ranking member Charles
Grassley (R-IA), oppose Medicare
Advantage cuts. Meanwhile, House members
who wrote a broad set of Medicare changes as
part of the State Children's Health Insurance
Program bill are waiting to see if any of those
provisions make it into the Senate Medicare
bill. House provisions most likely to
make it into the Senate package include
low-income subsidy expansions under Medicare
Parts B and D as well as other changes to Part
D. Other provisions from the House bill
that advocates hope will be folded into the
Senate package involve mental health parity for
seniors, medical screenings and Medicaid
payments for adult daycare facilities.
“I hope the House provisions make it into the
Senate bill, but that is not a given,” said
Edward Coyle, Executive
Director of the Alliance.
Western Regional Conference to be
National Alliance’s First of
2008
The Alliance for Retired
Americans invites Western Region members to
attend its Western Regional Conference in Las
Vegas, Nevada, March 24-26, 2008. The
meetings will provide a forum to work with
other activists in the region to learn how to
increase grassroots advocacy, get seniors and
retirees registered and voting, and educate
federal, state and local legislators on the
issues that concern retirees and seniors,
including prescription drugs, Medicare, Social
Security and retirement security. Join us
to set the course for the Alliance and for a
country that cares about workers, retirees and
their families. Details for the other
Regional Conferences are as follows:
Northeastern Regional Conference, April 17-18,
2008 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Midwestern
Regional Conference, April 28-29, 2008 in St.
Louis, Missouri; and Southern Regional
Conference, June 4-5, 2008 in Orlando,
Florida. To obtain copies of the official
registration form for any of the four regional
conferences, either call 1-888-373-6497, email
Joni Jones at jjones@retiredamericans.org,
or visit our website at www.retiredamericans.org.
Bill Collectors Seizing Social
Security Funds
According to a
recent article in Yahoo! Finance, more
and more seniors and people with disabilities
are having their accounts frozen by bill
collectors, despite the federal government’s
expressly exempting funds such as veterans’
benefits and Social Security from such
action. The freezes can leave seniors
without access to their accounts for months at
a time; even in the best cases when the bank
and creditors agree a mistake was made, it may
still take weeks to fix the error.
Additionally, some banks are profiting from
non-refundable fees of $100 to $150 for
freezing accounts, as well as overdraft charges
when consumers, unaware of the hold, pay
bills. The problem continues to grow with
increasing consumer debt, and new technology
making seizing bank accounts simpler and
cheaper than ever before. In September,
the Senate Finance Committee held hearings on
the issue, and is investigating the extent of
this problem.
Got a Good Story? Alliance
Seeking Health Care
Spokespersons
The Alliance is
working with the AFL-CIO's "In America No One
Should Go Without Health Care" campaign to
identify compelling first-person accounts of
people struggling to afford their health care
and prescription drug needs. Bad
experiences with insurance companies are also
welcome. Those interested must be willing
to speak with the media and/or participate in
other public events in 2008. For more
information, contact us at arafridayalert@retiredamericans.org.
Alliance Charters its 28th State:
New Hampshire!
On November 17th,
the New Hampshire Alliance for Retired
Americans (NHARA) held its founding convention,
with members electing John
Mendolusky from the United Food and
Commercial Workers as their President.
Speakers included New Hampshire State AFL-CIO
President Mark
MacKenzie. Alliance Executive
Vice President Judy Cato and
Government and Political Affairs Director
Rich Fiesta gave an overview
of the national Alliance’s resources.
The NHARA also implemented an annual
Tom Deary award called
"Fighting the Good Fight," which was given to
NHARA Senior Advisory Committee member
Eva Sartwell.
Iowa Leader Receives Lifetime
Achievement Award
Also on November
17, at a banquet attended by 500 colleagues,
friends, and family members, Dick
Fallow of Davenport received the East
Central Iowa-Northwestern Illinois AFL-CIO Hall
of Fame’s first Lifetime Achievement
Award. Among the crowd that gathered to
honor his lifetime of activism were four U.S.
Congressmen he helped to elect - Reps.
Bruce Braley (D-IA),
Phil Hare (D-IL), and
David Obey (D-WI), and keynote
speaker Rep. George Miller
(D-CA), chairman of the House Education and
Labor Committee. The lifetime achievement
award, which will be named after Mr. Fallow if
it is ever given again, recognizes the actions
of a retiree who continues his activism beyond
expectations. While officially retiring
in 1988, Mr. Fallow continues his work not only
with the Alliance, but also the National
Federation of Labor, Quad City Federation of
Labor, International Association of Machinists
Local 1191, and the American Federation of
Musicians Local 67. “I have known Dick
for a very long time, and there is no better
advocate for workers and retirees,” said
George J. Kourpias, President
of the Alliance. “He continues to
inspire others to work for change.”
Related Documents
- November 30, 2007
November 30, 2007