Alliance for Retired Americans Strongly Opposes Republican Effort to Privatize Medicare
http://www.usnewswire.com/WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Alliance for Retired Americans categorically opposes the proposed Medicare bill being touted by Republican leaders on Capitol Hill. The Bush Administration and Congress are callously using a much needed and long awaited prescription drug benefit to privatize Medicare. Under the proposed bill, Medicare as we know it will cease to exist. They may say they are looking out for seniors, but they are really protecting the profits of the big pharmaceutical companies and insuring increased profits for the insurance industry.
Under the Republican plan, seniors will have to join a private health plan with higher premiums. Millions of retirees may lose their employer-provided health care. America's seniors will not be fooled by television ads, paid for by special interests, with actors asking Congress "when are you going to get it done?" Real seniors, and the Alliance represents three million of them around the nation, are not asking when are you going get it done but what are you going to do? Right now the answer they're getting from Congress is "we're going to raise your premiums, force you into HMOs and PPOs all while we do nothing to bring down the costs of prescription drugs." That is not the answer seniors have been waiting for. They are waiting for Congress to add a prescription drug benefit to the most effective, most successful, most efficient health insurance program in the nation-Medicare. They don't want to end Medicare but add prescription drugs to it. It's not about declaring political victory, it's about doing what's right for seniors. Seniors won't be fooled. They know a lemon when they see it, and the GOP is offering seniors a lemon of a bill.
http://www.usnewswire.com/http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aBaEy1KmIzjQ&refer=usKennedy Plans Fight Against Medicare Compromise Bill (Update1)
Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Edward Kennedy, a Democrat who helped broker the passage of Senate legislation to overhaul Medicare, plans to fight a Republican-sponsored compromise bill because he says it will hurt senior citizens.
The agreement would force as many as 6 million seniors into a test program to compare costs between Medicare and plans offered by insurers such as Aetna Inc., according to a statement from Kennedy's office. The subsidies for insurers included in the measure would make competing hard for Medicare, it said.
``This bill is a partisan attack on Medicare,'' Kennedy said. ``It will leave millions of seniors worse off than they are today, with higher premiums and higher drug costs.'' Democratic lawmakers and seniors groups plan rallies this week on Capitol Hill to oppose the plan, Kennedy spokesman James Manley said.
Kennedy's opposition will hurt a push by President George W. Bush and congressional allies to fulfill a campaign pledge Bush made in 2000. The main purpose of the bill is to help Medicare's 41 million beneficiaries pay for medicines, expanding sales for drugmakers such as Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co. <snip>
The outcome is ``unpredictable,'' said Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia. ``Even the AARP cannot know for certain how senior citizens will react to this plan. There could be a rebellion against them.'' <snip>
COMMENT- BACKGROUND ON PROVISIONS BY POSTER:
In 2004 and 2005: purchase a discount card that might yield savings up to 15 percent of the cost of drugs.
In 2006, Medicare beneficiaries could sign up for a stand-alone drug plan or join a private health plan that offers drug coverage, charged a premium of $35 per month, and after meeting a $275 deductible, the insurance would pay 75 percent of drug costs up to $2,200, but with No coverage for drug costs between $2,200 and $3,600 out of pocket, with Catastrophic 95 percent off or only modest co-payment coverage when out-of-pocket spending reaches $3,600.
Privatize Medicare: Beginning in 2010 those still in Medicare pay much more as Insurance companies cherry pick healthy aged for lower cost private Medicare program. Pilot program begins with six metropolitan areas in which at least two private plans enroll at least 25 percent of Medicare beneficiaries.
Drug importation from Canada: Pretend to lift ban while it would maintain the ban on importing prescription drugs from abroad – in theory drugs from Canada OK but only after Department of Health and Human Services certifies safety – which HHS refuses to do.
Means Test on Drug benefit: The premium, deductible and coverage gap would be waived for people earning up to $12,123 a year provide the person has no more than $6,000 in fluid assets.
Means Test on Part B Medicare: Individuals with incomes greater than $80,000 would pay a larger premium than that necessary to cover the 25% of cost all others pay.
Insurance Company tax free subsidies: Would provide $12 billion in subsidies to private insurers(PPO and HMO included) that choose to offer basic health insurance.
Employer Tax free subsidies (bribe) to maintain drug coverage for retirees once Medicare drug benefit begins in 2006 worth $70 billion.
Tax cut for the rich via Health-related tax savings accounts: those with high-deductible health insurance policies -- $1,000 a year for individuals, $2,000 for couples -- can shelter income from taxes via a tax-deduction and then no taxes on the investment and earnings obtained in fund upon withdrawal, provided the money is used for health expenses.
In 2010 Congress must cut benefits via a review triggered by projected general revenues being more than 45 percent of Medicare spending 7 years in the future at that time.
Screws home health agencies: cuts payments, but does not require co-payments from patients.
Deductible: Would rise from $100 to $110 in 2005 and thereafter be indexed to the growth in Part B spending.
Rural health:$25 billion to increase payments to rural hospitals and doctors, among others.
Generic drugs: speed generic drugs to the market by limiting ability of pharmaceutical companies to block cheaper equivalents.
Hospital payments: Would allow hospitals to avoid future cuts in payments by submitting quality data to the federal agency that runs the Medicare program. At the same time, would increase payments through Medicaid to hospitals that serve a large number of disadvantaged patients. Would impose 18-month pause in development of new specialty hospitals and limit expansion of existing ones.
Physician payments: Would block planned cuts in physician payments in 2004 and 2005 and instead provide a 1.5 percent increase.
New benefits: cover an initial doctor's appointment for new Medicare beneficiaries and screening for diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
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