Alliance members scheduled over 70 district meetings with their elected officials for this week’s President’s Day Lobby Week. The appointments came as the Senate is set to vote next week - right after the Congressional recess ends - on a plan to stop the March 1 sequester (automatic budget cuts) without harming Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
On February 14, Senate Democrats released their plan to avert the sequester for the rest of the year — it contains $110 billion in deficit reduction, evenly divided between spending cuts and new revenues. During Lobby Week, Alliance members have been asking senators to vote for this package and asking House members to vote for it should it come to the House.
Included in the Lobby Week events: a rally and petition drop outside House Speaker John Boehner's (R) office in West Chester, Ohio on Wednesday.
Among those at risk if the cuts come to fruition: homebound and disabled seniors behind closed doors – “the hidden hungry” across the U.S.A., according to Larry Tomayko, interim chief executive officer of the Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA). If congressional domestic-spending cuts take effect on March 1, MOWAA faces an estimated 5.1% reduction in Older Americans Act funding.
According to Americans for Tax Fairness, a recent Hart Research poll found that found that two-thirds of voters nationwide want the richest 2% (by 66% of voters) and large corporations (by 64% of voters) to pay more in taxes. The poll also found that 59% of voters say that we still need to do more to make sure the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes: .
Yesterday's landmark decision by the Supreme Court on the Affordable Care Act was well-received by Alliance members and seniors throughout the country.
Because of the ACA, in 2011, over 3.6 million seniors on Medicare saved a total of $2.1 billion on their drug costs, an average of $604 person. And over 32 million seniors received at least one new free preventive care benefit through Medicare.
Seniors throughout the state participated in press conferences and celebrations. Photos.
Wisconsin Alliance President Leon Burzynski commented, "Seniors have and will continue to benefit from the Affordable Care Act in many ways. It is a positive step forward for all older Americans, our children, grandchildren and generations to come."
Maryland/DC Alliance President Frank Stella said, "Maryland is a better place to live today, thanks to today’s Supreme Court decision. More than 750,000 older Marylanders will continue to receive improved health care because the court has upheld important advances in Medicare such as the closing of the doughnut hole in prescription drug coverage and the continuation of critical screening tests without deductibles and co-payments."
Here are some press clips and Alliance mentions
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A new report issued this week by Strengthen Social Security & the Alliance for Retired Americans shows Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid provide benefits to 1 out of every 9 residents in Maryland's 8th district and contribute $2.9 billion per year to 8th district’s economy.
The report comes out just as Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland’s 8th District finishes his work on the congressional Super Committee tasked with reducing the federal deficit. The Committee must recommend at least $1.2 trillion in spending cuts by November 23. The full Congress must then approve these recommendations by the end of the year, or it will trigger automatic deficit reduction.
On a conference call Wednesday, David Waugh, 80, of Bethesda explained the ways that Social Security and Medicare helps Americans who have worked hard all their lives. Waugh began paying into Social Security at the age of 16 when he worked a factory job. When he found himself a widower in his 40’s while working full-time, Social Security allowed him to continue working and put his kids through school. Waugh's family again received vital help from Social Security when one of David’s sons was disabled in adulthood. David is now a retiree and Social Security has again become a key part of his financial stability, along with with Medicare. Without Medicare, he would have been unable to afford his surgery and the treatment to help him recover from his recent had emergency surgery for a brain tumor. David Waugh said:
“Social Security has taken a burden from the family…I don’t know how I would plan my life without it. Without Medicare, I would have been wiped out and deep in debt. I cannot imagine a world without it.”
Nancy Altman, who participated in the call yesterday said:
“Too often political and media elites talk about these programs as just cold, unfeeling facts and figures, as if they are divorced from the people whose lives they touch. Too often, the programs are talked about as ‘problems’ when in fact they really are ‘solutions’ – solutions that provide benefits that have been earned through the hard work of Americans.”
Although programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are widely scapegoated in federal deficit discussions, today’s report points out that they are not the true cause of the deficit. The report notes the large recent run-up in federal deficits resulted largely from 2001 and 2003 tax cuts; unpaid costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars; the Great Recession which dramatically reduced tax collections, and the Wall Street bank bailout. Correspondingly, in seeking solutions to the federal deficit, the Super Committee should be looking at its causes and should not be cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, which are absolutely vital to the economic security of this nation.
Highlights from the new report:
• Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid spend a total of about $2.9 billion a year in Maryland’s 8th district, providing benefits to an average of 1 out of every 9 residents for each program. • Social Security provided benefits to more than 1 in 9 (12.2 percent) 8th district residents in 2010, with an average benefit of $14,368 per year. • Without Social Security, the elderly poverty rate in Maryland would increase from 1 out of 11 (9.2 percent) to one out of 3 (34.1 percent) residents. • Social Security never has and will never contribute to federal budget deficits because, by law, it does not have borrowing authority. • Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are a lifeline for residents of Maryland and the lifeblood of many small businesses, hospitals and nursing homes and home caregivers. Most of the jobs they create stay in America. Cutting these programs would threaten our families’ economic security and health and deepen our jobs crisis. • Two-thirds of all Medicaid spending is for seniors and people with disabilities. One out of every four (16 million) seniors and people with disabilities depended on Medicaid in 2010.
Today is the 45th birthday of Medicare, and Alliance members are holding dozens of events from New Hampshire to Arizona commemorating the occasion! From cake in Indianapolis to lobbying visits in Missouri, the events used a wide array of treats and techniques to drive home the point that Medicare has literally been a lifesaver for millions of seniors.
Alliance President Barbara Easterling said, “This year is an especially happy birthday for Medicare because the new health reform law makes it easier for seniors to afford to see a doctor, fill a prescription, and receive free preventive screenings and tests for serious diseases.” To read her entire column on Huffington Post, click here.
A new ad featuring Andy Griffith describes important improvements to Medicare made by the Affordable Care Act in advance of Medicare Open Enrollment. Watch here.
The Leadership Council of Aging Organizations, a coalition of 64 non-profits - including the Alliance - advocating for seniors, sent a statement commemorating Medicare’s birthday to the entire U.S. House of Representatives. The statement declares that in 1965, Medicare and Medicaid were established, “vastly improving the quality of life for older adults. Before these programs were enacted, one-half of America’s seniors were uninsured. The health care coverage provided by Medicare and Medicaid has meant better health, longer lives, and less financial strain for older people.” And in 2010, “Medicare is the largest source of health coverage in the nation, covering 47 million older adults and people with disabilities.”
This week's teletown hall event with President Obama, organized to clarify the new health reform law for seniors, was well-received by many seniors and Alliance members nation-wide.
The Alliance's Judy Cato attended the event in Wheaton, Maryland; and the Alliance hosted over 25 watch-and-call-in parties in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvani and South Carolina.
Photos. [Top left: Obama at tele-town hall in Wheaton MD courtesy National Council on Aging (NCOA) Bottom left: DesMoines, Iowa event.]
Barbara Franklin, President of the Illinois Alliance, was the first phone call accepted. She asked President Obama about whether or not changes in Medicare Advantage overpayments would result in a reduction in care for seniors. Obama replied that this was one of the more common myths about health reform (in addition to death panel concepts), and explained what the new health law does to sustain Medicare.
Elmer Blankenship said in response to Obama's tele-town hall,
As a retired Auto Worker and a member of The Indiana Alliance for Retired Americans, I was one of the seniors here in Indianapolis that watched President Obama’s June 8 town hall forum on CSPAN to learn more about how the new health reform law will benefit seniors and retirees.
The new law will help retirees better afford to see a doctor and fill their prescriptions. Seniors who fall into the “doughnut hole” coverage gap in Medicare Part D will, starting this week, receive a $250 rebate check from the government. That may not sound like much, but for many Seniors, it can be the difference to getting needed medicine.
Seniors are starting to benefit with free annual check-ups in Medicare, ending co-payment for preventative screenings, allowing children up to age 26 to be covered on their parents policy and in many other ways. I thank President Obama for his efforts to end the myths and scare tactics around health reform and giving America’s seniors the facts.
Ken Sagar and Midge Slater reported from Iowa that the consensus from seniors gathered at the tele-town hall sites was that "President Obama should do more town hall meetings to inform Americans of the content of the new health care program and to dispel the falsehoods being spread by tea party and other malcontents. Many people indicated that they learned quite a bit from the discussion."
Stella Johnson (at left) and Caesar Dudley, community-based members from Washington DC, spoke powerfully on behalf of the Alliance at separate events on Capitol Hill this Thursday. Johnson joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka at a Steelworker-sponsored rally to celebrate the passage of the new health reform law. Johnson, who has fallen into the Medicare doughnut hole, said the new law will, “help seniors like me who struggle every day to afford the prescriptions and medical tests that they must have.”
Dudley spoke alongside several leading House Democrats to launch a congressional Seniors Task Force and unveil a Seniors Bill of Rights. He said, “People are living longer and longer, and our government must pay more attention to the needs of this growing population."
Watch this video/slideshow highlighting Alliance members from DC, CT, FL, IA, MD, MO, NC, NH, NM, & TX who worked hard to pass a health reform bill that would close the donut hole; cover preventive services; cover early retirees and more. Thanks to them for reaching out and fighting to get the job done.
Last night, the House of Representatives said "Yes" to health insurance reform. Years of hard work culminates in results.
Alliance Executive member/Vice President Judy Cato joined AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Working America member Liz Stender on Capitol Hill to witness the historic vote.
Ms. Cato said, "I believe in and am fighting for health care reform. I need health care reform. My family needs health care reform. Senior citizens need health care reform. Disabled vets need health care reform. I came here today to be another body to try to see this through. It feels really good to be here today. This moment is a long time a'coming."
Alliance Executive Director Ed Coyle said the landmark legislation will help current and future retirees in several significant ways including:
· Closing the Medicare “doughnut hole” coverage gap so seniors will no longer have to cut dangerous corners on their medications; · Eliminating co-pays for preventive screenings to help older Americans more quickly and affordably identify and treat diseases such as cancer and diabetes; · Cutting wasteful spending to extend the life of the Medicare Trust Fund so seniors can better afford premiums which have doubled over the past eight years; and · Reducing costly health problems by assisting pre-Medicare retirees with insurance costs and banning discrimination based on pre-existing conditions.
Alliance members made over 6000 phone calls and sent over 2000 emails to their representatives last week.
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.
The Alliance is a member of Seniors to Seniors, a coalition of senior citizen advocacy organizations committed to educating seniors about what the current health care reform legislation means for them once it is implemented. The coalition’s goal is to help filter through the clutter and hype to educate seniors about how health care reform will help keep doctors in Medicare, stop physician payment cuts, improve long-term care choices, keep Medicare affordable, and close the prescription drug “doughnut hole.”
