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• Jul 18, 2008 Friday Alert    President Vetoes Medicare Bill; Congress Quickly Overrides Tuesday, President Bush vetoed H.R. 6331, the “Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008”. Congress quickly acted to override the veto; the House voted 383-41 (Roll Call No. 491) for the override, while the Senate...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jul 11, 2008 Friday Alert    Senate Vote Strengthens Medicare On July 9, the U.S. Senate voted to rescind cuts in Medicare reimbursements to physicians, scale back subsidies to private Medicare Advantage providers, and expand health care coverage for low-income seniors. Defying a White House veto threat, the Senate...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jul 3, 2008 Friday Alert    Senate to Vote Again on H.R. 6331, Medicare Bill That Fell Short by One Vote After opponents of H.R. 6331, the "Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008," were able to prevent the measure from coming up for a vote last week, the Bush administration moved on Monday to...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jun 27, 2008 Friday Alert    Medicare Bill to Help Seniors Falls One Vote Short in Senate In the Senate on Thursday night, supporters of H.R. 6331, the “Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008,” fell one vote short of the 60 needed to close debate and bring the measure up for a vote.     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jun 20, 2008 Friday Alert    Seniors’ Votes May Be the Key to Victory in 2008 According to CNN political analyst Bill Schneider, “We're going to see an age division in this election bigger than we have usually seen."     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jun 13, 2008 Friday Alert    Medicare Bill that Would Have Helped Seniors Fails to Gain Enough Support On Thursday, the U.S. Senate did not reach the 60 votes needed for cloture on S. 3101, the “Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008.”     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jun 6, 2008 Friday Alert    Competing Medicare Bills Proposed in Senate Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee have released competing Medicare proposals to prevent the 10.6 percent cut to physician payments that is scheduled to take effect July 1.     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• May 30, 2008 Friday Alert    Administration Threatens to Veto Medicare Bill That Does Not Protect Insurers According to the Associated Press, the Bush administration is threatening to veto any legislation that protects doctors' Medicare payments at the expense of private insurers.     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• May 23, 2008 Friday Alert    Medicare Changes May Address Doctor Payments, Nursing Home Deficiencies On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee met to discuss upcoming Medicare legislation, including tighter rules for Medicare Advantage plans.     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• May 16, 2008 Friday Alert    Advertising, Better Treatments Lead to Greatest Use of Prescription Drugs Ever For the first time, it appears that more than half of all insured Americans are taking prescription medicines regularly for chronic health problems, a new study shows.     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• May 9, 2008 Friday Alert    State Regulators Seek Greater Authority to Oversee Medicare Advantage Plans The New York Times reported on Monday that state officials will soon ask Congress for more power to regulate the marketing of private Medicare insurance plans to seniors.     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• May 2, 2008 Friday Alert    Release of New Voting Record Commemorates Start of Older Americans Month Marking the beginning of Older Americans Month, the new 2007 congressional voting record released on May 1 by the Alliance details the voting record of every U.S. Senator and Representative on key issues affecting...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• May 1, 2008 2007 Voting Record    Click here to download the 2007 Voting Record This past year retirees saw a new Congress come to Washington. The great wave of voter discontent in 2006 led by retirees, who vote in the greatest numbers, elected new majorities to both houses of Congress. For retirees and older Americans, the... Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• May 1, 2008 Voting Record Press Release 2008    Marking the beginning of Older Americans Month, the new 2007 congressional voting record released today by the Alliance for Retired Americans details the voting record of every U.S. Senator and Representative on key issues affecting current and future retirees.     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Apr 25, 2008 Friday Alert    Call to Action for Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries is Coming Soon The Senate is moving quickly to craft a bill that will address a scheduled cut in Medicare payments to physicians, and the bill is also likely to include other Medicare changes.     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Apr 21, 2008 Friday Alert    Northeastern Regional Meeting Coincides with Pennsylvania’s Primary On Thursday and Friday of last week, the Alliance held its Northeastern Regional Meeting - the second of four regional meetings - in Philadelphia, PA. Gerald McEntee, President of the American Federation of State, County,...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Apr 11, 2008 Friday Alert    Tax Filing Deadline Has Added Significance for Retirees This Year Tuesday, April 15th is the regular deadline for filing taxes, and the date holds special implications for seniors in 2008. Up to 20 million Americans who rely primarily on Social Security income qualify for an economic...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Apr 4, 2008 Friday Alert    Prescription Drug Prices Becoming More Unbearable as Economy Slides People with health insurance are having more trouble paying for prescription drugs as higher out-of-pocket costs for medications and a slowing economy strain family budgets, according to surveys and health care analysts.     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Mar 28, 2008 Friday Alert    Western Regional Meeting is Pronounced a Success! Monday through Wednesday of this week, the Alliance held its Western Regional Meeting - the first of four regional meetings in 2008 - in Las Vegas, Nevada.     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Mar 20, 2008 Friday Alert    Retirement Security of Bear Stearns Employees Up in the Air Sunday’s sale of Bear Stearns, the nation’s fifth largest investment bank, to J.P. Morgan Chase for $2 per share has not only shaken financial markets, but also left the retirement of many of the company’s 14,000 employees up...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Mar 17, 2008 Open Letter to Retirees    Letter from Alliance President George J. Kourpias     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Mar 14, 2008 Friday Alert    New Hampshire Alliance Members Greet Sen. McCain with Protests… On the eve of Senator John McCain's Tuesday visit to Exeter, New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Alliance for Retired Americans united outside the Concord Legislative Office Building to protest his plan for Social Security...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Mar 7, 2008 Friday Alert    John McCain Restates Support for Social Security Privatization In an interview appearing in the March 3 edition of The Wall Street Journal , John McCain restated his support for the privatization of Social Security, saying, “As part of Social Security reform, I believe that private savings...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Mar 7, 2008 Background Materials (PDFs)    • What You Need to Know to be a Part of the Social Security Debate English • Frequently Asked Questions: Social Security and Privatization English Spanish • Myths about Social Security Privatization English Spanish • Private Social...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Mar 4, 2008 LCAO Joint Statement for Mark-up of Senate Budget    Last month, President Bush submitted his Fiscal Year 2009 budget, which proposes severe cuts to Medicare, totaling $178 billion over the next five years, $556 billion over the next 10 years, and more than $10 trillion over the next 75 years.     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Mar 4, 2008 LCAO Joint Statement for Mark-up of House Budget    Last month, President Bush submitted his Fiscal Year 2009 budget, which proposes severe cuts to Medicare, totaling $178 billion over the next five years, $556 billion over the next 10 years, and more than $10 trillion over the next 75 years.     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Mar 4, 2008 Caring for an Aging America Act    U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has introduced the Caring for an Aging America Act, legislation aimed at addressing the crisis in providing care for a senior population that is projected to almost double over the next 25 years. The Boxer bill is endorsed by the Alliance for Retired Americans.     Alliance for Retired Americans        more   
• Feb 29, 2008 Friday Alert    Medicare Advantage Plans Costing Many Seniors More A report issued yesterday by the Government Accountability Office, Congress’ investigative bureau, revealed that out-of-pocket costs for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries are often much higher than for recipients of traditional Medicare,...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Feb 27, 2008 Letter to Congress on Federal Budget Priorities    Sign-on letter from the Emergency Campaign for America's Priorities urging Congress to adopt a budget resolution that reverses drastic cuts and invests in services to protect people and communities from serious loss while giving them tools to rebuild and grow. This letter will be distributed to...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Feb 22, 2008 Friday Alert    Seniors Must File Federal Tax Returns in Order to Receive Stimulus Checks In 2008, up to 20 million Americans who rely primarily on Social Security income will qualify for an economic stimulus check from the federal government. Generally, people need more than $3,000 in 2007 income to...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Feb 15, 2008 Friday Alert 2/15/08    Two D.C. Events Spotlight Bush Budget Cuts for Seniors The Alliance joined the American Federation of Government Employees and Americans United for Change on Monday in calling on lawmakers to fully fund the Social Security Administration (SSA) and pass legislation giving Congress more control...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Feb 8, 2008 Friday Alert 2/8/08    Super Tuesday Leaves Clinton, Obama, and McCain with the Most Delegates More than 14.6 million Democrats and 9 million Republicans went to the polls on Tuesday to pick their parties’ nominees for President. As of Thursday, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) held an 85-delegate lead over Sen....     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Feb 5, 2008 Stimulus Letter to Senate    The Alliance for Retired Americans, on behalf of its more than three million members throughout the nation, urges you to vote for a stimulus plan that includes stimulus payments to 20 million Social Security recipients not currently covered in the House-passed plan of H.R. 5140. Social Security...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Feb 1, 2008 Friday Alert 2/1/08    State of the Union and FY ’09 Budget Offers Seniors Little Only 159 words were devoted to health care in President Bush’s State of the Union address Monday night, in which he asked Congress for new suggestions on Social Security and Medicare. With health care and prescription drug costs...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jan 30, 2008 LCAO Stimulus Letter    The undersigned members of the LCAO are concerned that the plan for a stimulus package currently under consideration by Congress does not include three significant provisions. Stimulus payments are only being considered for those who have “taxable income” or “earned income”. This...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jan 25, 2008 Friday Alert 1/25/08    State of the Union Address Likely to Reveal Bush’s Vision for Seniors in ’08 President Bush will give his 2008 State of the Union address Monday night at 9:00 PM EST. He is expected to discuss ongoing efforts to stimulate the economy, and will likely reveal his proposal for changing the...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jan 18, 2008 Friday Alert 1/18/08    February 5th Shaping Up To Be Historic Day in Race for U.S. President Democrats will hold contests in 22 states and one territory on February 5, known as Super Tuesday, while Republicans have scheduled contests in 21 states for that day. According to The Washington Post , 52% of all pledged...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jan 11, 2008 Friday Alert 1/11/08    Senators Hillary Clinton, John McCain Win New Hampshire Primaries Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. John McCain won the Democratic and Republican New Hampshire presidential primaries on Tuesday night. Older voters overwhelmingly outnumbered younger voters, a proportion that benefited Sen....     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jan 4, 2008 Friday Alert 1/4/08    Sen. Obama, Former Gov. Huckabee Win Iowa Caucuses Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) won the Iowa caucuses last night, gaining victories in the first contests for the Democratic and Republican nominations for U.S. President in 2008. "The high turnout shows how...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Dec 28, 2007 LCAO SSA Letter    On behalf of the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO), we, the undersigned organizations are writing to submit our comments to Docket No. SSA-2007-0044, which specifically contemplates proposed regulatory changes to ALJ, Appeals Council, and Decision Review Board appeals levels of the...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Dec 21, 2007 December 21, 2007    Budget and Medicare Bills Passed: Implications for Seniors Before leaving Washington, for a holiday recess, Congress increased funding for Social Security and protected physicians from receiving cuts in their Medicare payments, but did not stop the overpayments made to Medicare Advantage plans.     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Dec 14, 2007 December 14, 2007    More Than 3 Million Seniors Will Fall into Donut Hole Next Year More seniors than ever are expected to fall into the Medicare Part D “donut hole” next year, the coverage gap in which beneficiaries must pay the full cost of their prescription drugs. More than 3 million out of 24 million...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Dec 7, 2007 December 7, 2007    Alliance Members Protest Medicare Advantage Private Insurer Subsidies On Tuesday, the White House delivered a “stern” letter to senators writing a year-end Medicare bill, threatening a veto if lawmakers do not comply with their demands to continue subsidizing private insurance companies...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Nov 30, 2007 November 30, 2007    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...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Nov 16, 2007 November 16, 2007    Bush Still Giving Congress Fits With Vetoes That Deny Health Care As the week ended, Congress was still trying to deal with vetoes by President Bush on two major health care bills. According to The New York Times, congressional efforts to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Nov 14, 2007 Nursing Home Letter to Senate Finance Committee    Sign-on letter from the National Citizen's Coalition for Nursing Home Reform, urging improved transparency, accountability, and staffing throughout the nursing home industry. Similar letters were sent to the Senate Special Committee on Aging and the House Committee on Ways and Means.     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Nov 9, 2007 November 9, 2007    Beneficiaries Can Change Medicare Part D Plans Beginning Next Week According to the Associated Press, approximately 2 million low-income Medicare beneficiaries who do not pay monthly premiums will have their prescription drug plans automatically switched next year, while others will have to...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Nov 2, 2007 November 2, 2007    As SCHIP Funding Deadline Nears, Obstructionists Still Standing Together The Senate on Thursday held its latest vote on the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and the outcome was similar to past roll calls. The Senate voted to pass H.R. 3963, 64-30, and President Bush...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Oct 30, 2007 SSA Funding Sign-On Letter    We respectfully request that during conference negotiations on the FY 2008 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill that you accept the Senate recommended level for SSA administrative funding of $9.872 billion which represents a $275 million increase...     Alliance for Retired Americans      
• Oct 26, 2007 October 26, 2007    SCHIP Passes the House Again On Thursday, the House voted 265-142 to pass H.R. 3963, a revised version of H.R. 976, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Reauthorization. Like the original version, vetoed by the President on October 3rd, H.R. 3963 continues to provide...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Oct 19, 2007 October 19, 2007    SCHIP Veto Override Attempt Falls Short By a vote of 273-156, an attempt to override President Bush’s veto of expanded funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) failed on Thursday. The tally left Democrats 13 votes short of the two-thirds majority of 286 needed to...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Oct 12, 2007 October 12, 2007    U.S. House to Attempt Override of SCHIP Veto on Thursday President Bush’s veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) reauthorization bill last Wednesday set off a massive political fight that is expected to continue dominating Congress next week. In advance of the House...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Oct 5, 2007 October 5, 2007    President Bush Vetoes Health Insurance for Children On Wednesday morning, President Bush vetoed a bill to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), H.R. 976, which would have added $35 billion to the program over five years and covered an additional four million children....     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Sep 28, 2007 September 28, 2007    General Motors Strike Ends The United Auto Workers (UAW), which had gone on strike at all of General Motors' (GM’s) U.S. plants on Monday, began returning to work on Wednesday. A proposed new contract allows GM to shift $51 billion in liabilities for UAW retiree health care to an independent...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Sep 25, 2007 Long Term Care Senate Hearing Testimony    The Alliance for Retired Americans commends the Senate Finance Committee for holding a hearing on expanding options for home and community-based services in longterm care (LTC). During the past several decades, advocates and policymakers have attempted to bring long-term care to the forefront of...     Government and Political Affairs Dept.        more...  
• Sep 21, 2007 September 21, 2007    Alliance Members Tell Congress to Stop Medicare Advantage Overpayments Alliance members have already sent 3,700 e-mails to their members of Congress since being asked Tuesday to help stop overpayments to Medicare Advantage (MA) insurance companies. “Thank you to everyone who contacted their...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Sep 14, 2007 Home Health Care Workers Letter to Sen. Harkin    The need for long-term care workers, particularly home health care workers, is immense today—approximately 13 million Americans require some long-term care assistance in their home. This need is expected to double during the coming decades as the baby boomers age.     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Sep 14, 2007 September 14, 2007    GAO Audit Shows Insurers Benefiting Excessively from Medicare Advantage Private insurance companies participating in Medicare have been allowed to keep tens of millions of dollars that should have gone to consumers, according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report and Monday’s...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Sep 10, 2007 September 10, 2007    More Than 600 Retirees Lobby Congress on Medicare and Social Security With a theme of “Building for America’s Future,” more than 600 Alliance members descended on Washington D.C. last week to map out an ambitious grassroots campaign for mobilizing seniors around threats to Medicare and...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Aug 31, 2007 August 31, 2007    Census Announces New Figures Regarding the Uninsured… The number of those without health insurance is rising, according to the Census Bureau's annual snapshot of American living standards. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that nine million people have been added to the ranks...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Aug 24, 2007 August 24, 2007    Report Card Shows Seniors Pay More Under Part D Than Under Other Drug Plans Older Americans in Medicare's Part D prescription drug program are more likely to pay at least $300 a month for medicines than those on other plans, a study published Tuesday by the journal Health Affairs has found....     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Aug 17, 2007 August 17, 2007    U.S. is only 42nd in Life Expectancy Americans are living longer than ever, but not as long as people in 41 other countries, the Associated Press reported on Sunday. For decades, the United States has been slipping in international rankings of life expectancy, as other countries improve...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Aug 10, 2007 August 10, 2007    Alliance Member Speaks for Millions of Americans on Health Care On August 7, Steve Skvara, a disabled, retired steelworker from Indiana, personalized the problem with health care in America. Representing the millions of American workers who have lost their pensions and health care in...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Aug 3, 2007 August 3, 2007    House Medicare Advantage Vote a Victory for Seniors On Wednesday night, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3162, “The Children’s Health and Medicare Act of 2007,” by a 225-204 vote. The legislation expands the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), a federal...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jul 27, 2007 July 27, 2007    Alliance Members Mobilize As Medicare Advantage Legislation Moves Alliance members sent more than 800 e-mails to their Members of Congress in just the first 24 hours of being asked last week to help stop overpayments to Medicare Advantage (MA) insurance companies. Alliance retirees also came...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jul 20, 2007 July 20, 2007    Monday is National Call-in Day for Stopping Medicare Advantage Overpayments Your U.S. Representative needs to hear from informed seniors! Please join other Alliance members across the country by calling your Representative on Monday and urging support for legislation that would create a...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jul 13, 2007 July 13, 2007    Medicare Advantage Takes Center Stage Save the date! Monday, July 23 will be a national call-in day to Capitol Hill, as Alliance members are urged to demand an end to federal subsidies for insurance companies offering “Medicare Advantage” plans.     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jul 11, 2007 Saving Social Security Video    Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jul 6, 2007 July 6, 2007    Medicare Advantage, Re-importation Votes Coming Soon Both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate could vote this month to cut overpayments to Medicare Advantage private insurance plans, in order to make improvements to the Part D drug plan and expand children’s health...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jun 29, 2007 June 29, 2007    Road to Privatizing Medicare Hits a Pothole On Wednesday, the Alliance came out in support of H.R. 2945, the “Medicare Advantage Truth in Advertising Act,” which was introduced by Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA), Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health. In a...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jun 22, 2007 June 22, 2007    Senate Set to Vote on Employee Free Choice Act Alliance members participated in a 4,500-person rally at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, supporting passage in the U.S. Senate of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). Such passage would allow workers to join a union by signing a card, thereby...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jun 15, 2007 June 15, 2007    109th Congress Disappointed Seniors in 2006, Alliance Voting Record Reveals Many of the lawmakers who did the most damage to the health and economic well-being of America’s seniors during the second session of the 109th Congress no longer hold office, according to the results of the Alliance...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jun 8, 2007 June 8, 2007    Campaign is Launched to Stop the Privatization of Medicare On Thursday, leading Medicare experts and advocates launched a campaign at the U.S. Capitol to stop the privatization of Medicare. The reason behind the campaign is a secret effort to privatize Medicare by the Bush Administration,...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jun 8, 2007 2006 Voting Record    In 2006, Congress enacted legislation that again contributed to record level spending deficits and deepened the nation’s budget and fiscal crisis. By November, retirees made their feelings known at the polls.     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Jun 1, 2007 June 1, 2007    Long Term Care Under Congressional Scrutiny According to The New York Times, a Congressional committee last week began looking into business practices in the long-term care insurance industry. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has asked Conseco and the Penn Treaty American...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• May 25, 2007 May 25, 2007    Rep. Stark Takes on Insurance Industry The House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee held a hearing on Tuesday on private Medicare Advantage fee-for-service plans, leading Congress one step closer to cracking down on private insurance companies. Rep. Fortney "Pete" Stark, (D-CA) chairman of...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• May 18, 2007 May 18, 2007    Chrysler Deal Brings Retiree Health Care Issue to the Front and Center DaimlerChrysler announced on Monday that Cerberus Capital Management would pay $7.45 billion for an 80 percent stake in Chrysler, Detroit’s third-biggest automaker. Cerberus has specialized in buying distressed businesses...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• May 11, 2007 May 11, 2007    Senate’s FDA Bill Will Not Allow Consumers to Re-import Prescription Drugs By a vote of 93 to 1, the Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new power to police drug safety, regulate advertising and restrict the use and distribution of...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• May 4, 2007 May 4, 2007    U.S. Senate Clears Way for Prescription Drug Reimportation Votes The Senate broke a filibuster Thursday by a 63-28 vote on Sen. Byron Dorgan's (D-ND) amendment to a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization bill that would permit the legal reimportation of prescription drugs....     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Apr 27, 2007 April 27, 2007    Administration Uses Trustees Reports to Scare Seniors The trust funds for Social Security and Medicare will last a year longer than previously estimated, trustees said Monday. The trustees report that Social Security is solvent through the year 2041, and Medicare is solvent through 2019.     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Apr 20, 2007 April 20, 2007    Senate Blocks Effort to Lower Medicare Costs On April 18, the U.S. Senate blocked consideration of a bill, S. 3, to remove the prohibition on Medicare negotiating price discounts with the pharmaceutical companies. It would also have forced drug plan providers to reveal currently secret...     Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Apr 16, 2007 Medicare Showdown in U.S. Senate: Take Action Now    On April 12, the Senate Finance Committee voted 13-8 in favor of a bill, S. 3, removing the prohibition on Medicare negotiating price discounts with the pharmaceutical companies.  It would also force drug plan providers to reveal currently secret pricing data to government... Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Apr 5, 2007 April 5, 2007    Bush Makes Pro-Privatization Recess Appointment at SSA On Wednesday, President Bush announced his intention to appoint Andrew Biggs to be Deputy Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) while Congress is in recess.  Biggs, who wrote extensively while at the CATO... Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Mar 30, 2007 March 30, 2007    Insurance Companies Caught Denying Care to the Most Vulnerable Seniors Interviews by The New York Times and confidential depositions indicate that some long-term-care insurers have developed procedures that make it nearly impossible for policyholders to be paid. A review of more than 400... Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Mar 29, 2007 March 29, 2007    Whereas long-term care covers a range of services in a variety of settings; and Whereas 10 million Americans of all ages living in communities and nursing homes have significant limitations in activities of daily living because of illness or disability and need personal assistance or... Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Mar 23, 2007 March 23, 2007    U.S. Senate Rejects Medicare Cuts The Senate on Thursday easily defeated a bid by conservative Republicans to curb the growth of the Medicare program as debate on a $2.9 trillion budget outline for 2008 entered its third day. The 74-27 vote on Medicare dismissed a bid by Sen. John Cornyn... Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Mar 16, 2007 Friday Alert - March 16, 2007 CDC Report Examines Overall Health of Older Americans The cost of caring for aging Americans will add 25 percent to the nation's health care bill by 2030 unless people act now to stay healthy, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced last week in a Reuters article.... Alliance for Retired Americans        more...  
• Mar 16, 2007 March 16, 2007    CDC Report Examines Overall Health of Older Americans; Bush Administration Disagrees with Health Care Report Recommendations; 2008 Senate Races: Never Too Early for Election News; Employee Free Choice Act Update; Grandparents Raising Their Grandchildren Face Variety of Challenges    more...  
• Mar 9, 2007 March 9, 2007    Most Willing to Pay More in Exchange for Universal Health Care; CMS Official Against Releasing Medicare Data; Alternative to Nursing Homes Can Be Risky; Bad Week for Drug and Insurance Companies’ Public Relations; Did You Know…    more...  
• Mar 2, 2007 March 2, 2007    Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) Passes in the House; Study Examines Reasons Behind High U.S. Health Care Costs; Older Retirees Head North; Ohio Senior Voice Conference Ties 2006 Election Results to Legislative Advances; Alliance Poll Results: Medicare Will Not Negotiate Drug Prices Anytime Soon;...    more...  
• Feb 23, 2007 February 23, 2007    Health Care Spending May Rise to One-Fifth of All U.S. Expenditures; Access to Generic Drugs May Be Expedited; National Spending on Rx Drugs Slows by 0.4%; Disagreement over Whether Most Are Saving Enough for Retirement; Grandparents Denied Military Death Benefit    more...  
• Feb 16, 2007 February 16, 2007    President Bush: Caught Telling the Truth?; Rep. Waxman Launches Broad Probe of Drug Price Fraud; Senate Finance Panel Will Not Consider Bush’s Social Security Nominee; West Virginia Retirees Fight for Their Financial Interests; New Industry Formed to Handle Arguments with Insurance Companies    more...  
• Feb 9, 2007 February 9, 2007    Bush Budget Takes a Bite out of Medicare, Medicaid; Paper Ballot Requirements Make Progress; Bush vs. His Own Treasury Secretaries on Social Security Changes; Is Big Brother in Your Medicine Cabinet?; Labor Loses Great Leader; Did You Know…    more...  
• Feb 2, 2007 February 2, 2007    Is Your Representative or Senator a Committee Chair?; Colorado Measure to Save at Least $1.6 Million Yearly on Medicaid Drug Purchases; Health Plan Deduction Would Lower Social Security Benefits; Budget Proposals Would Cut Medicare and Medicaid    more...  
• Jan 29, 2007 Social Security Talking Points    Spread the word!  Here's what to tell your friends who want to know more about Social Security privatization and why it's a dangerous idea.    more...  
• Jan 26, 2007 January 26, 2007    Many Not Impressed by President’s State of the Union Address; Alliance Activists’ Petition Delivery Coincides with State of the Union; CMS to Correct Erroneous Withholding of Medicare Part D Premiums; Senators Unveil Bipartisan Plan to Overhaul Medicare and Social Security; Alliance People in...    more...  
• Jan 19, 2007 January 19, 2007    Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke Weighs in on Social Security and Medicare; President’s State of the Union Address Likely to Include Social Security; Senate May End Deals Between Drug Companies That Delay Generic Alternatives; Republicans Face Dissension in the Ranks; Some Baby Boomers...    more...  
• Jan 12, 2007 January 12, 2007    Medicare Price Negotiation Vote Passes in House By Wide Margin; Major Social Security Changes Unlikely in the Immediate Future; Bipartisan Re-importation Legislation Introduced in the Senate and House; New Congress Showing Fiscal Restraint; Alliance People in the News; Did You Know…    more...  
• Jan 5, 2007 January 5, 2007    New Congress Begins to Carry Out Its Agenda; Drug Plan Changes for 2007: Shock and Awe; Happy New Year from Humana; Steelworkers Strike Ends at Goodyear; Drug Industry on the Defense    more...  
• Dec 21, 2006 December 21, 2006    One of Speaker Hastert’s Final Acts Benefits Insurers; President Bush to Reach Across the Aisle on Social Security?; Most Will Keep the Same Medicare Part D Plan in 2007; Faulty Assumptions that Affect Retirement Security; Seniors Living in Better Health than Ever Before; Did You Know…    more...  
• Dec 15, 2006 December 15, 2006    Senate Republican Leader Announces Plans to Oppose Negotiating Drug Prices; Employers – Including Goodyear - Take Aim at Retiree Health Care Benefits; Electronic Voting Process Will Include More Paper Trails in ’08; Mandatory Retirement Age Policies Get a Closer Look; Field Activity; Did You...    more...  
• Dec 12, 2006 December 12, 2006    SPECIAL EDITION - RETIREE HEALTH CARE AT STAKE    more...  
• Dec 8, 2006 December 8, 2006    New Congress Makes Plans for First 100 Hours in 2007…; …But Current Congress is Leaving Behind Some Unfinished Business; Alliance to Release White House Conference on Aging (WHCoA) Report; Private Medicare More Expensive than Traditional Medicare; Trouble Again This January for Medicare Part...    more...  
• Dec 1, 2006 December 1, 2006    Higher Percentage of Seniors Voted for Democrats in ’06 Than in ’04; CMS Ad Deceives Readers; Drug Industry Braces for Change; Bush’s Scaled-Down Plans for Social Security – Another Scheme Underway?; Health Insurance Premiums Rise with Executives’ Pay; Alliance Loses Strong Supporter    more...  
• Nov 30, 2006 November 17, 2006    Bush Administration Vows to Block Negotiation of Drug Prices; Part D Shopping Season; PBGC Narrows Pension Deficit by $4.7 Billion; Democrats Choose House Leadership for 110th Congress; Alliance Activities and Leadership Travel    more...  
• Nov 30, 2006 November 9, 2006    U.S. House and Senate Under New Management!; Alliance Members Come Through; Public Warned About Social Security Scam; Alliance Members Prove to be Good Political Analysts    more...  
• Nov 30, 2006 November 3, 2006    As Election Day Arrives, Republicans Try Not to Talk About Scandals, Part D; Specific Voting Rights Questions Answered;  Medicare Handbook Said to Mislead; New Rules on Patient Safety; Alliance Activities and Leadership Travel    more...  
• Nov 30, 2006 October 27, 2006    Bush’s Social Security Privatization Remarks Dismay Some in Own Party; Part D Auto-Enrollment for 632,000 Medicare Beneficiaries Ends; Specific Voting Rights Questions Answered; Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Steps up Contributions; Alliance Activities and...    more...  
• Nov 30, 2006 October 20, 2006    Part D Failures Examined in New Report by Pennsylvania Alliance; Social Security COLA Increases by 3.3%; Wal-Mart Expands Drug Program; Know Your Voting Rights; Alliance Activities and Leadership Travel; Did You Know…    more...  
• Oct 13, 2006 October 13, 2006    As New Report Shows Senior Vote Will Be Crucial in November…; …GOP Braces for Losses; Know Your Voting Rights; Settlement Forces Major Restructuring of Rx Drug-Pricing System; Alliance Activities Across the Country; Did You Know    more...  
• Oct 6, 2006 October 6, 2006    Key House Race Update; Know Your Voting Rights; U.S. Customs to Stop Seizing Canadian Medicines; Medicare Part D From Entirely Different Points of View; Alliance Activities Across the Country; Alliance Thanks Ally for Lifelong Dedication    more...  
• Oct 5, 2006 Voter Protection    A list of downloadable documents containing voter protection information    more...  
• Sep 29, 2006 September 29, 2006    Another Suspicious Privatization Attempt; U.S. Senate Up for Grabs?; Judge Orders Medicare Not to Collect Incorrect Payments Sent to Beneficiaries; New Voting Technology Brings Complications; Alliance Activities Across the Country    more...  
• Sep 22, 2006 September 22, 2006    Donut Hole Week a Bevy of Alliance Activity; Wal-Mart Sets $4 Price for Many Generic Drugs; WHCoA Report Is Like the Conference: A Whitewash; Medicare Rate Hike Not Being Taken Lying Down; New Voter ID Requirements Could Throw More Wrenches into Voting Process; Travel; Labor Loses a Friend    more...  
• Sep 15, 2006 September 15, 2006    Medicare Changes: Increased Fees for Everyone – Not Just the Wealthy; Bush Promise to Privatize Social Security Not Forgotten; GOP Plans More Negative Ads Than Ever; Donut Hole Day Quickly Approaching; Alliance to Enhance Community-Based Activities; Did You Know…    more...  
• Sep 11, 2006 September 11, 2006    Retirees Gathered in Washington Vow Aggressive Campaign to Mobilize Seniors; George Kourpias, Ruben Burks Re-Elected to Lead Alliance; Activists Deliver Donuts to Capitol Hill Offices; Social Security Rally Draws Large Crowd; Conventioneers Inspired by Several Notable Speakers; Calling All...    more...  
• Sep 1, 2006 September 1, 2006    Trial Lawyers Get the Word Out on High Prescription Drug Costs…; …while Drug Industry Quietly Pays for Ads Thanking Congressional Benefactors; Two New Issue Briefs Available; Schering-Plough Admits Wrongdoing, Shells out $435 Million to Settle Charges; Who’s Watching the Children?; Rep....    more...  
• Aug 29, 2006 How to Read the Record Use the following key to determine how your Senators and Representative voted. Democrat (D) Republican (R) Independent (I) + Announced...    more...  
• Aug 29, 2006 How to Read the Record Use the following key to determine how your Senators and Representative voted. Democrat (D) Republican (R) Independent (I) + Announced...    more...  
• Aug 29, 2006 How to Read the Record Use the following key to determine how your Senators and Representative voted. Democrat (D) Republican (R) Independent (I) + Announced...    more...  
• Aug 25, 2006 August 25, 2006    Not Too Late to Join the Alliance Convention!; Medicare Makes $50 Million Mistake; Even the Wealthy are Having Trouble Affording Health Care; Take Action Against Wal-Mart; Tell Us Your Donut Hole Story; Clarification; Did You Know…    more...  
• Aug 18, 2006 August 18, 2006    White House Pushes to Cut Medicaid, Despite Lack of Support; GlaxoSmithKline to Reimburse $70 Million in Landmark Settlement; Drug Industry’s Excessive Profits Could Fill Doughnut Hole; Alliance News; Pelosi, Reid, Begala, Shields to Headline Alliance National Convention; Did You Know…    more...  
• Aug 11, 2006 August 11, 2006    Incumbents Face Uphill Battle; Americans United Announces New Social Security Ad Campaign; More Pension Plan Shortfalls; Costly, Private Medicare Plans See Jump in Enrollment; Pelosi, Reid, Shields to Headline Alliance National Convention; Did You Know…    more...  
• Aug 4, 2006 August 4, 2006    Senate Blocks Estate Tax Cut/Minimum Wage Increase, Passes Pension Bill; Officials Continue to Support Social Security Privatization Even With GAO Report; Heat Waves and Hurricanes Hit Seniors Hardest; Leadership Travel; Pelosi, Reid, Shields to Headline Alliance National Convention    more...  
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