Friday Alert - May 26, 2006

[Guest guest]

Dear Activist, here is your May 26, 2006

issue of the Friday Alert

 

Jury Finds Enron Executives Guilty

Former Enron CEOs Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay were found guilty Thursday of

conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud during the collapse of what was

once the seventh-biggest company in the U.S. Skilling, 52, was found guilty of

19 counts of conspiracy, fraud, insider trading and making false statements.

The convictions, when combined, carry a maximum sentence of 185 years in prison.

Lay, 64, was found guilty on six counts of fraud and conspiracy and four counts

of bank fraud. He faces up to 45 years. Judge Sim Lake set sentencing for

September 11. Twenty-thousand former employees and retirees in Enron's pension

and 401(k) retirement plans that held Enron stock have suffered $1 billion in

losses, according to their Seattle attorney in USA Today. " Justice prevailed in

this case, " said Edward Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance. " Skilling

and Lay knew very well what was going on when they were selling their own stock,

while telling employees and the

rest of the world that everything was fine. "

The public outrage over Enron and other corporate scandals led Congress to pass

the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the most sweeping anti-fraud legislation ever, designed

to make company executives more accountable. However, not all attempts to

address what went wrong at Enron have been successful. For instance, an

amendment introduced to the 2005 bankruptcy bill by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL)

would have given employees and retirees a priority in making claims during

bankruptcy proceedings for the value of company stock held in an employee

pension plan, but it failed 40-54.

Wall Street Journal Pans Part D; Wal-Mart Likes It

A recent Wall Street Journal editorial analyzed the Medicare Part D prescription

drug program, and called it " a big setback for the causes of fiscal

responsibility and market-oriented ideas in health care. " The editorial called

the panic in Congress to extend the May 15 deadline for penalty-free enrollment

" further evidence that the program has been far from the political home run the

GOP once hoped. " George J. Kourpias, president of the Alliance, commented,

" With the Wall Street Journal echoing that the Part D program was fiscally

irresponsible and could hurt Republicans, the program seems to have few

defenders cheerleading its excellence before the midterm elections. "

Wal-Mart officials have not been among those publicly badmouthing Part D,

however. Many owners of smaller pharmacies have complained to Medicare

officials that the drug benefit steered business to large, corporate pharmacists

by putting the bigger pharmacists' logos on their cards. The most prominent

example of this practice, called " co-branding " , occurred with cards issued by

Humana Inc., which displayed logos featuring Wal-Mart or CVS, according to the

National Community Pharmacists Association, a trade group representing about

24,000 pharmacies. Many of the independent pharmacy owners are convinced that

they lost countless customers because of the logos, and when talking to

lawmakers this week about concerns with the drug benefit, co-branding was a top

complaint, according to the Associated Press. The Centers for Medicare and

Medicaid Services told insurers on Wednesday that next year, when they cite a

particular company as a partner, they must note that other

pharmacies-physicians-providers are available in their network. In addition,

insurers will not be able to issue identification cards that feature the logos

of big pharmacies.

Hello, Texas!

Welcome to the Texas Alliance for Retired Americans, our 25th state chapter.

Becky Moeller, Secretary-Treasurer of the Texas AFL-CIO, greeted sixty attendees

at the founding convention on May 20. Elected officers include Victor Pauly,

President; Elaine Jones, Secretary-Treasurer; four union vice presidents; and

one community-based vice president, each of whom was chosen at the caucuses.

Edward Coyle attended the convention and presented the charter.

Justice Department: Abbott Laboratories' Fraud Cost Government Millions

The Justice Department is accusing Abbott Laboratories of vast price inflation

as part of a fraudulent billing scheme that cost Medicare and Medicaid more than

$175 million from 1991 to 2001. Abbott jacked up the price of the intravenous

antibiotic vancomycin as much as 18 times what it charged health care providers,

knowing that the Medicare and Medicaid programs would reimburse the providers

based on the manufacturer's price, according to a whistleblower lawsuit unsealed

Thursday and reported by the Associated Press. Abbott, based in Chicago,

participated in the scheme because hospitals, pharmacies and other providers

could pocket the difference and would be more likely to prescribe the company's

products in the future, the Justice Department stated. Other Abbott solutions

used in administering IV drugs and to replace fluids in the body also were

alleged to be part of the arrangement. " If Medicare had been able to negotiate

prices with Abbott Laboratories directly,

the government would have saved $175 million on the fraud alone, " said Ruben

Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance.

Alliance National Convention

The National Convention is coming up September 5-8, 2006 in Washington, D.C.

Members will elect a president and secretary-treasurer and at-large members will

also elect six community-based board members. Nominees must be members in good

standing of the National Alliance. Any self-enrolled (at-large) member may

attend the meeting and is eligible to vote. Sponsoring organizations may send

as many delegates as they choose. Nominations must be sent to the Alliance for

Retired Americans, Nominations Committee, 815 16th Street, NW, Fourth Floor

North, Washington DC 20006, postmarked by August 4. For Registration

Information call: 1-888-373-6497 or visit www.retiredamericans.org .

Did You Know...

The office of Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) issued a statement

after the House of Representatives passed their budget resolution last week.

Their heading: " Fiscal Responsibility is not an Option in this House of

Representatives. " Too true!

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

www.retiredamericans.org/join

 

 

" To be nobody-but-myself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to

make me everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being

can fight, and never stop fighting. " -e.e. cummings-