Friday Alert ::: Alliance for Retired Americans

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

 

here is your August 6, 2004 issue of the Friday Alert

 

HMOs to Reap Huge Profits from Medicare Law

Medicare Advantage (MA) plans will receive " significant benefits " as a result of

government payments to participating plans provided by the 2003 Medicare law.

Draft regulations estimate that between 2004 and 2009 the law will pay Medicare

HMOs $23.4 billion more than what they would receive without the law. Medicare

beneficiaries are not expected to fare nearly as well. During the same period,

the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services projects that the benefits beyond

traditional Medicare for beneficiaries enrolling in MA plans will be valued at

only $1.4 billion.

 

" This is proving once again that the Medicare law favors HMOs and pharmaceutical

companies at the expense of Medicare beneficiaries, " said George Kourpias,

president of the Alliance for Retired Americans. " HMOs will get $23.4 billion

from the federal government while beneficiaries will get only $1.4 billion in

benefits. This kind of wacky distribution of resources has to end. Seniors are

going to strike back against this outrage when they vote in November. "

 

Under the new Medicare law, Medicare Advantage plans, formerly known as

Medicare+Choice, are managed care plans that will offer Medicare beneficiaries

all Medicare-covered benefits including drugs and can provide additional

benefits. They will receive substantial subsidies to compete with traditional

Medicare.

 

Bush Administration Runs Up Highest Deficits in History

The Bush administration announced a $445 billion budget deficit for 2004, the

highest deficit ever and $70 billion higher than last year's deficit. When

President Bush took office in 2001, the federal budget had a surplus of $262

billion.

 

" America is confronted with the highest budget deficit in our history because

the Bush Administration has pursued tax cuts for the wealthy, " said Edward F.

Coyle, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans. " The

Administration's own data shows that tax cuts since 2001 account for over half

of the budget deterioration in 2004. Tax cuts and budget deficits have a

serious impact on seniors and their families. If these fiscal policies

continue, program cuts will likely degrade the quality of life of seniors and

the vast majority of low- and moderate-income Americans for generations to

come. "

 

Incredulously, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Joshua B.

Bolten tried to put a positive spin on the deficit saying that it is less than

the $521 billion OMB forecast for 2004 in February and claimed the improvement

is " the direct result of the strong economic growth...tax relief has fueled. "

 

" This is just a shell game with the highest stakes, " said Coyle. " The

administration is engaging in a consistent pattern of questionable projections

and inflated forecasts in order to later claim that the budget outlook has

improved. "

 

White House Conference on Aging Sets Date

The White House Conference on Aging (WHCoA) will be held October 23-26, 2005, in

Washington, D.C. The Policy Committee for the Conference is responsible for the

planning and implementation and will be deciding theme, delegate selection and

topic areas in the next few months.

 

" We encourage all Alliance members to participate in the delegate selection

process in your state when it becomes known, " said Ruben Burks,

secretary-treasurer of the Alliance. " It is important for retirees to be there

to speak out on issues that are important to them. "

 

The 2005 WHCoA will be the fifth since 1961 and the first of the 21st century.

The last conference was in 1995. Many recommendations from the 1961 conference

became law. Among these were Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security reform and

the Older Americans Act.

 

Who do you want in the White House in 2005 when the White House Conference on

Aging decides the future of Aging Policies and Strategies for the next decade

and beyond? Vote your choice on November 2, 2004.

 

NIH Restricts Outside Consulting

The National Institutes of Health has announced it will impose severe

restrictions and disclosure requirements on its scientists who wish to do

outside consulting, the Washington Post reported. The new rules will prohibit

NIH employees or their supervisors with grantmaking powers from consulting for

pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies. Numerous investigations including a

Congressional inquiry, an investigation by the federal Office of Government

Ethics, an internal agency review, and an independent commission have revealed

that NIH scientists have allegedly engaged in numerous unethical collaborations

with drug and biotech companies.

 

Employer-sponsored Health Insurance Coverage Declines

Nearly nine million Americans under age 65 lost employer-sponsored health

insurance between 2001 and 2003 according to a recent report by the Center for

Studying Health System Change. The percentage of people with such coverage

declined from 67 percent to 63.4 percent in that period. During the same

period, enrollment in public health insurance increased. The percentage of

people under age 65 enrolled in Medicaid and the State Children's Health

Insurance Program (SCHIP) rose from 9 percent to 12 percent between 2001 and

2003.

 

Bertrand Seidman Fellowship for Advancing Social Policy

The Alliance for Retired Americans has established the Bertrand Seidman

Fellowship for Advancing Social Policy. The purpose of the fellowship is to

provide professionals in the aging field and students in advanced aging studies

the opportunity to research and analyze social policies affecting the older

population.

 

The fellowship honors the memory of Bert Seidman, who devoted his life to

advocacy on behalf of workers, retirees and their families. Those wishing to

contribute to this new fellowship should make checks payable to: Alliance for

Retired Americans Educational Fund, 888 16th St. NW, Suite 520, Washington, DC

20006.

 

Please indicate by letter or on the check that the contribution is for the

Bertrand Seidman Fellowship.

 

----------

 

Become part of a progressive grassroots movement!. Join the Alliance:

http://www.retiredamericans.org/index.php?tg=articles & topics=6 & new=0 & newc=0

 

__________________

 

Alliance for Retired Americans 888 16th St, NW Washington, DC 20008

www.retiredamericans.org

 

To update your member profile,

http://www.unionvoice.org/retirees/smp.tcl?nkey=eb7ge62hkwn7t

 

 

 

 

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.

Tell-a-friend!

 

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for Alliance for

Retired Americans.

 

This message was sent to . Visit your subscription management page to modify

your email communication preferences or update your personal profile. To stop

ALL email from Alliance for Retired Americans, click to remove yourself from our

lists (or reply via email with " remove " in the subject line).

 

 

 

http://pets.care2.com/

 

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com

 

WAITING