Email AARP to complain of their capitulation to GOP: [e-mail]

[flpoljunkie]

The GOP Medicare Drug Bill is an egregious giveaway to the big pharmaceutial and managed care companies, Bush's big campaign contributors, and does nothing to hold down the cost of drugs.

In fact, it prohibits the government from controlling the cost of drugs. We are not surprised.

[Noordam]

1. emialed

:kick:

[Cleita]

2. I emailed.

[GR]

3. I Called AND E-Mailed THIS IS AN OUTRAGE...

How on earth an organization which supposedly supports seniors could endorse this abomination is beyond me.

I think we need a petition calling for the ouster of Novelli, the CEO, who is behind this.

[goddess40]

4. Medicare prescription bill

This is Goddess's mother. I emailed and called AARP and told them how angry I was that they are supporting this bill. As a retired State employee there is a real possibility I will lose my good State coverage for the crappy Medicare coverage. I told them it would cost me a lot of money (I figure $4000/year) and told them a bad bill is NOT better than no bill. On the AARP web site they say they are going to issue a big PR campaign to incourage bipartisan support for this bill. I told them on the phone I would have to cancel my AARP membership if they continue their support. You can call them at 1-800-424-3410.

[Mel]

5. Not an AARP member

but I hope to be older one day so I wrote and told them what I thought of them supporting this GOP give away bill.

I encourage all to write even if you aren't a Senior. If we treat our Seniors bad and don't stick up for them we aren't worth a darn as society!

The more I see how Seniors are treated in this country the less I look forward to growing old. I tell you the truth, I'm having one of those day's, holding on too hope that things will get better. :(

[bleedingheart]

6. AARP may lose if this becomes a failure

Older Americans are better readers and boy do they care about their personal finances. If older americans figure out that they have been screwed they will screw over the AARP.

[otohara]

7. done

i don't think they will change their minds. bamboozled by the right-wing

[papau]

8. "known" provisions in GOP/AARP drug bill

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.

[Cleita]

9. Kick

All seniors and those who have parents who could be screwed over by these changes need to write AARP, and your representatives in Washington.

[VOX]

10. Called and e-mailed...as follows:

Dear AARP:

I am so terribly disappointed in your plan to back the proposed Republican Medicare prescription drug bill. Yes, seniors desperately need benefits -- but at what eventual cost? As written, the legislation creates a $12 billion fund to help managed-care plans take hold among the Medicare population. We have already seen what has happened with managed care plans in our basic healthcare coverage -- which is becoming a luxury that the middle class will soon no longer be able to afford.

In addition, I believe that this current Republican administration is extremely disingenuous and one of the worst in our nation's history. It has eroded the very foundations of our civil rights; alienated us from the rest of the world; exploited an unspeakable tragedy to further the agenda of preemptive, unilateral, right-wing world politics as outlined in the Project for the New American Century; pushed forward the interests of big business to the exclusion of individual and environmental needs; and played very divisive and damaging partisan politics.

I must inform you that, because of AARP's intention to spend $7 million for newspaper and television advertising in support of the bill, which could abet the re-election of this Republican administration, I am cancelling my AARP membership immediately.

Sincerely,