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SENIOR CITIZEN POLITICS Political News and Information for Senior Citizens & Baby Boomers
Senior Citizen Politics Democrats, Obama Likely to Seek Changes to Medicare Advantage, Prescription Drug Benefit
Dec. 15, 2008 - Democratic lawmakers and President-elect Barack Obama in 2009 likely will seek to reduce reimbursements to private health insurers under Medicare Advantage and make changes to the Medicare prescription drug benefit, the Wall Street Journal reports. Read more... Medicare Rights Center Wants Obama to Act Fast on Medicare Private Plans
Dec. 15, 2008 - Quick action is needed by the incoming Obama Administration to enact basic consumer protections under Medicare private health and drug plans, according to a 50-page memorandum to the Obama transition team issued by the Medicare Rights Center. Daschle Nominated to Lead HHS, Asks Americans for Health Care Input Online
Dec. 11, 2008 - Tom Daschle is "known for speaking softly but acting boldly," President-elect Barack Obama said today in announcing the former Senate Majority Leader as his choice for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and Director of the new White House Office on Health Reform. Daschle, who will head the agency that includes the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, immediately asked Americans to give him input about health care Online. Read more... AARP Gets Hundreds of Millions from Insurance Companies to Endorse Policies Bloomberg.com report finds part of this goes to pay on $200 million marble and brass-studded headquarters
Medicare’s Hospital Pay Should be Linked to Quality of Care says Finance Committee Leaders Currently payments for inpatient care are based on quantity - number of surgeries, procedures and services provided by hospital
Former Senator Tom Daschle Slated to Head Health and Human Services for Obama The agency includes Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
AARP May Face Serious Challenges to Its Integrity, Non-Profit Status, Membership Claim Crack opens with Senate Finance Committee’s ranking member demanding answers to questions about misleading marketing of insurance by AARP
Finance Chair Sen. Baucus Introduces Health Care Plan Involving Medicare, Medicaid
Nov. 14, 2008 – Health care reform has not been a high priority for many senior citizens, since they are already covered by government plans - Medicare and/or Medicaid. A new plan introduced by one of the most powerful members of the U.S. Senate would have some impact on these programs, however, and seniors should stay informed. Read more... Bad Election Night for Republicans on Senate’s Special Committee on Aging Two former GOP chairs gone, Dole hits brick wall, Coleman in run-off; no Democrats faced re-election
Nov. 7, 2008 - It has been a very bad election year for Republicans on the Senate’s Special Committee on Aging – two of them, past chairmen of the committee – will leave the Senate in January. The immediate past chairman and current minority leader, Sen. Gordon Smith of Oregon, was defeated on November 4. The Republican chairman who preceded him, Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho, is leaving voluntarily after a scandal involving a sex sting in a men’s restroom. Read more... Senior Citizens Were Only Age Group to Support Sen. McCain for President
Nov. 5, 2008 – Data from exit polling in yesterday’s presidential election reveals that senior citizens – Americans age 65 and older – were the only age group to support the losing candidate, Sen. John McCann. And, it was by a sizable margin – 53% for McCain and only 45% for the winner, Sen. Barack Obama. It’s not easy to understand but it was clearly indicated in the polling that lead up to the election. Read more... Advocacy Group Claims Credit for Electing Candidates Opposed to Social Security Privatization National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare sets agenda for next Congress
Senior Citizens Make Sudden Shift to McCain in Gallup Poll as Election Day Arrives
By Tucker Sutherland, editor, SeniorJournal.com Nov. 4, 2008 – On the day of an historically presidential election that will see either an African-American win the presidency or a woman win the vice presidency, senior citizens appear to have made a sudden shift to Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, just days before the election. Read more... Oldest Americans Say Life Has Been Bad Last Five Years and Not Going to Get Much Better Harris Poll finds more people believe their lives would be better under Obama than under McCain, but not senior citizens
Florida Secretary of State Decides to Cooperate with GAO Study of Voting Access for Aging, Disabled State with highest percentage of senior citizens had been the only one barring access to polls
Where Presidential Campaigns Stand on Senior Citizen Issues Found on Websites Fairly distinct difference can be found in presentations by Obama and McCain campaigns Oct. 21, 2008 – Early voting is in high gear across America and some predict more than half of the voters in this U.S. election will take advantage of this opportunity to vote before election day. It is late for any new issues, so, SeniorJournal.com has tried to piece together the proposals each of the major presidential campaigns are offering for senior citizens. Read more... Last Generation to Attend Segregated Schools Getting More Comfortable with Obama If race is an issue it is most probably among senior citizens; who say that most of their friends will be hesitant to support a black candidate By Tucker Sutherland, editor & publisher, SeniorJournal.com
Senior Citizens are Only Age Group Where a Majority Do Not Like Election Press Coverage Seniors joined by Republicans and Men as groups rating presidential election press coverage low in Pew survey
Poll Indicates Old Age is Bigger Burden than Being Black in Elections, But Seniors Disagree Over half of adults say friends would hesitate to vote for person over 70; oldest adults say over 60% would hesitate to vote for black person Sept. 25, 2008 – A recent Harris Poll has uncovered two important keys to who wins this year’s presidential race. When the pollsters asked adults if they thought people they know would be hesitant to vote for a person over age 70, a black or a woman, most (52%) said their friends would hesitate to vote for the senior citizen. But, the people polled that were age 63 or older – a key voting block in America – were most likely (61%) to say their friends would be reluctant to vote for the black candidate. Read more... Social Security Only Consistent Income for Seniors with Retirement Accounts Threatened Obama, McCain battle over private investment accounts. Administration's failed economic policies have threaten seniors' income security, says Committee to Preserve Social Security, Medicare Sept. 23, 2009 – With leaders in Washington focusing on a rapid solution to the worst financial crisis since the depression, one advocacy group, worried about retirement accounts and any threats to Social Security, has issued a reminder to those shaping the rescue that “Social Security provides the only consistent source of income for American retirees and their families.” Read more... Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Put Hold on Cut to Medicare Hospice Reimbursement National hospice group is also suing the Bush dministration to stop cuts Sept. 15, 2008 – A bi-partisan bill introduced in the House and Senate has brought smiles to the faces of leaders of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). The bill would prevent the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from implementing a rule for at least a year that reduces Medicare’s hospice pay rates. The group has also sued the Bush Administration to stop the cuts. Read more... Senior Citizens Move Closer to Right to Hold Nursing Homes Accountable for Neglect, Abuse Senate Judiciary Committee passes Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act of 2008
Bill to Keep Workers with Criminal Records Out of Long-Term Care System Clears Committee Sen. Herb Kohl, Sen. Pete Domenici announce progress of their bill Sept. 10, 2008 – A bill aimed at preventing persons with criminal histories from working in long-term care services moved a step closer to reality yesterday. It was approved by a unanimous voice vote in the Senate Finance Committee. Read more... Senior Citizens Send Puzzling Signals in Poll on Females' Ability to Lead the Nation Seniors are least likely to say men have better leadership skills than women, among least likely to say U.S. ready for female leader Sept. 4, 2008 – With all the attention on women as political leaders, the Pew Research Center has taken a look at how U.S. adults perceive the leadership traits of women and their ability to serve as political leaders. The general public finds women have everything it takes and more of it than men, but are still hesitant to say they are better leaders than men. Senior citizens, as usual, took a slightly different slant than younger people. Read more... Senior Citizens Most Adamant That Churches Should Not Make Political Endorsements
Aug. 25, 2008 - Senior citizens are more likely than younger adults to say churches should refrain from endorsing candidates (75% of those over the age of 65 take this point of view), according to a recent survey by Pew Research Center that also found the U.S. public moving away from long held views that religious institutions should speak out on political matters. Read more... Where Do The Presidential Candidates Stand on Long-Term Care, Social Security? Summary of major party candidates' positions on issues that affect seniors and their families By ElderLawAnswers.com Aug. 25, 2008 - With the elderly population growing by leaps and bounds, families are struggling with long-term care costs and worrying about Social Security. So what are the presidential candidate's plans to address these issues? Below is a summary of the main party candidate's positions on some of the issues that affect seniors and their families. Read more... Physicians May Have Won Battle Over Medicare Pay Cut but War Still Looms in Future If Congress based physician fee increases on the rate of medical inflation, it would cost $65 billion over the first five years
Senior Citizens Most Adamant that There is Too Much Hostility, Partisanship in Washington They say their contemporary, McCain, best to fix it; younger voters say it’s Obama July 13, 2008 – A large majority in the U.S., 60 percent, believe there is a great deal of hostility and political partisanship in Washington, D.C., but the oldest Americans, those age 63 and older, are adamant on this issue. A recent Harris Interactive survey found 78% of these “Matures” see it as a problem. Read more... Sen. Kennedy Leaves Sick Bed to Stop Medicare Pay Cut for Physicians, McCain No Show Kenney helps inspire veto-proof majority to pass bill that failed before July 4
July 9, 2008 – There was no drama lacking today as the Senate managed to pass a bill to stop Medicare from cutting physician’s pay by over 10 percent. There was the unexpected appearance of Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who came to help pass the bill and there was the expected lack of appearance and no vote by one Senator – John McCain. Read more... Democrats Seek One More GOP Vote to Stop Medicare Physician Fee Cut, Target McCain Physician fee cut also could affect Tricare, the U.S. military health care program; Fewer Texas doctors taking new Medicare patients
Medicare Hits Physicians with New Regulations, Cuts $3 Billion From Fee Schedule
Spending under the 2009 Physician Fee Schedule is projected at $54 billion June 30, 2008 – While physicians caring for Medicare patients have a 10-day reprieve from a 10 percent pay cut, they did get hit today by new regulations proposed by Medicare, as well as, changes in the agency’s compensation structure that will reduce payments to doctors by about $3 billion. Some question if this will encourage doctors to push more of the bill to the senior citizen patients. Read more... Docs Get Temporary Relief from Medicare Pay Cut Due Tomorrow Washington Post says freeze by Health & Human Services could last 10 days
Republicans, Insurance Lobby Slam Shut Effort to Stop Medicare’s 10% Pay Cut for Physicians
Sen. McCain could have stopped the pay cut but failed to show for the vote; AMA says docs will limit Medicare patients
June 27, 2008 – The insurance industry lobby, with a lot of help from Republican senators, appears to have managed to cut Medicare’s pay to physicians by more than 10 percent by the end of June. Although approved by a majority of the Senators present, the legislation failed by one vote to reach the 60 needed to close debate and call for the final vote. President Bush had promised to veto the bill that earlier passed the House by a gigantic margin of 355-59, as many Republicans defied the President’s threat. Read more... Senate Republicans Block Bill That Would Delay Medicare Physician Payment Cut Sends it back for further negotiations between Republicans and Democrats
June 13, 2008 - Senate Democrats on Thursday failed to obtain the 60 votes required to invoke cloture and begin debate on a bill (S 3101) that would delay for 18 months a 10.6% reduction in Medicare physician fees scheduled to take effect on July 1 and increase payments by 1.1%, among other provisions, CQ Today reports. Read more... Senior Citizens Slightly Favor McCain in May Polling Despite Obama Bounce from April Older Boomers most likely to support McCain after favoring Obama in April; Pew Research finds McCain's Negatives Mostly Political, Obama's More Personal By Tucker Sutherland, editor, SenorJournal.com June 10, 2008 – In the closing days of the Democratic primary, the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press released poll numbers showing voter preferences in an election between Barack Obama and John McCain as measured in April and May. Senior citizens – age 65 and older – were more likely to favor McCain. In May, however, they were not the age group most committed to the Republican – it was the 50-64 age group of older boomers, which had favored Obama just one month earlier. Read more...
Medicare Will See Big Changes if Bill Offered in Senate by Finance Chair Baucus Gets Passed Gives docs pay increase but makes major changes in way program operates June 9, 2008 – The office of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Friday issued a news release saying the Chairman had “unveiled long-awaited legislation making reforms to Medicare.” That is starting with an understatement. If passed, this bill will change the face of Medicare. The headlines it garnered focused on the move to give back to doctors the pay being cut by Medicare but the meat is in the dozens of other provisions that make significant changes to the program. Read more... Senate Passes 2009 Budget Ignoring Bush Medicare, Medicaid Cuts; Moves to Restore Docs’ Pay Cut Paints bleak picture for next president, who will face tough decisions, such as on cutting benefit programs to prepare for the retirement of the baby-boomers June 5, 2008 – The Senate yesterday approved a new budget for the 2009 fiscal year that ignores the cuts to Medicare and Medicaid that were proposed in the budget proposed by President George Bush. Senators on Finance Committee also moved closer yesterday to agreement on legislation that will stop the 10.6 percent cut in Medicare play for physicians now set to become effective on July 1. The final details focus on funding and the possible increased pay in future years. Read more... Senior Citizen Politics Bush To Veto Any Legislation Including Medicare Advantage Cuts Health and Human Services Secretary tries to stop Democrat bill restoring physician’s pay cut
May 30, 2008 - HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt in a May 22 letter wrote that President Bush's senior advisers would recommend he veto any legislation that "would result in the loss of access to additional benefits or choices in the Medicare Advantage program," the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports (Freking, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 5/29). Read more... FTC Report Shows Drug Companies Still Paying to Keep Generic Drugs From Consumers 'These agreements inflict special pain on the working poor and the elderly, who need effective drugs at affordable prices.' May 22, 2008 - The Federal Trade Commission yesterday released a report on 33 final settlement legal documents submitted to the FTC by drug manufacturers in fiscal year 2007 with those submitted since fiscal year 2004, finding an increasing use of "pay-for-delay" agreements between brand-name and generic drug manufacturers. For many of the elderly, the sickest and poorest Americans, the low-cost generics can be critical. Read more... New Senate Bill Aims to Help Senior Citizens, Aging Baby Boomers Stay in Workforce Retirement trends could create a U.S. labor shortage of 4.8 million workers in 10 years May 7, 2008 - Although many of today's senior citizens find it is tough to find employment it may get a little easier is a new Senate bill passes. The bi-partisan bill has been introduced in the Senate to prevent projected dramatic declines in the workforce following the retirement of the baby boomers. It will provide incentives and eliminate barriers for older Americans wishing to stay in the workforce longer, and encourage employers to recruit and retain older workers. Read more... Restoring Medicare Pay Cut to Docs May Get Delayed by Iraq War Spending AARP says effort to derail new Medicaid regulations also a factor
May 5, 2008 - Senate action on legislation to delay a 10.6% Medicare physician fee cut might take a back seat to a supplemental spending bill for the Iraq war and a measure to delay new Medicaid regulations, AARP's lead lobbyist said on Friday, CQ HealthBeat reports. Read more... Sen. Kohl promises legislation to expand, train, and support all sectors of the health care workforce, including doctors, nurses, direct care workers, and family caregivers April 17, 2008 – Martha Stewart headlined a hearing of the Senate's Special Committee on Aging yesterday that may set the wheels in motion to expand the recruitment and training of healthcare workers to meet the needs of the 78 million baby boomers about to join the Medicare ranks, and to help relieve the 44 million Americans serving as the sole source of care for an older family member or loved one. Read more... Senior Citizens Turn to Local TV for Political News; Most Americans Distrust Media Harris Poll says for political news people turn to local TV, then cable networks and newspapers March 11, 2008 – The Harris Poll recently looked at how Americans trust and use the media for political news and found older people – called “Matures” in Harris talk – are much more likely than younger generations to turn to their local television news, while the Baby Boomers chose cable television news. But, among all age groups, Harris found most Americans don’t trust the media. Read more... Aging Committee Seeks Alternative to Drug Companies Educating Physicians on New Drugs Hearing Wednesday will explore government program to provide the information March 10, 2008 – Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) does not like doctors getting their first introduction to a new drug from a pharmaceutical sales representative – he thinks it unfairly influences the physicians. Instead, the chairman of the Senate aging committee wants the government to provide the information. He will hold a hearing on Wednesday to consider this revolutionary alternative. Read more... One in 9 Senior Citizens Going Hungry Says Report to Senate Aging Committee Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) says 35 million Americans going hungry, senior citizens are ‘disproportionately affected’ March 10, 2008 – One out of every nine senior citizens in America is going hungry, according to testimony last week at a hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, which was called by the ranking member, Senator Gordon H. Smith (R-OR). Smith said 35 million Americans are going hungry and senior citizens are “disproportionately affected.” Read more... Senior Citizens Most Adamant Voter Age Group and They Want Hillary Clinton Young people surging to vote for Obama, older voters love Hillary March 5, 2008 – Age is clearly a factor in the battle for the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party. The older the voter, the more likely he or she will vote for Hillary Clinton. The trends detected by the Pew Research Center in the Super Tuesday elections appeared to hold in yesterday’s elections in Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island. Read more... Aging Committee Hears Surgeons Paid Millions to Promote Medical Devices Investigator testifies that hip & knee replacement market paid $800 million to doctors over five years Feb. 27, 2008 – Government investigators found that during the years 2002 through 2006, four manufacturers, which controlled almost 75 percent of the hip and knee replacement market, paid physician consultants over $800 million under the terms of roughly 6,500 consulting agreements, according to Greg Demske, an investigator for Health and Human Services. He testified today at a hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging that examined the financial interactions between medical device companies and surgeons. Read more... Aging Committee Hearing Today Questions Physician Inducements Investigation reinforces need for physician payment sunshine act Feb. 27, 2008 – An investigation by the Senate Special Committee on Aging has found “rampant” conflicts of interest in the medical device industry, with surgeons being induced by an assortment of cash, free travel and other gifts to use particular devices. The committee will hold a hearing this today to see if these inducements violate industry ethics or federal laws. Read more... Age May Be Issue in Presidential General Election with Two of Oldest Candidates Ronald Reagan holds crown for oldest, John F. Kennedy was youngest elected By Tucker Sutherland, editor Feb. 25, 2008 – Back in early February a survey by the Pew Research Center found major concern among voters about a candidate being age 70 or older. Andrew Kohut, President of the Pew Research Center wrote a special analysis published in the New York Times today pointing to the research and saying it could emerge as a real problem for Sen. John McCain, 71, in the general election. Read more... Bush Solution to Medicare Funding is Shifting More Costs to High Income Seniors Proposal to Congress responds to mandate for plan to fund program Feb. 16, 2008 – Reminding Congressional leaders that the “Medicare program is on an unsustainable path,” Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt, yesterday presented the Bush Administration’s response to a mandate to solve this problem. Shifting more of the financial burden of the drug program to higher income Americans is the primary change suggested in the proposed legislation. Read more... Democrats Win Battle to Add Low-Income Senior Citizens to Economic Stimulus Plan Seniors depending on Social Security to get $300 checks in compromise Feb. 8, 2008 – It is a done deal – low-income senior citizens and disabled veterans will be included in the government’s play to stimulate the lagging economy. Congress has sent the final bill to the White House for President George Bush’s signature and he said yesterday it was “good legislation.” Read more.... Senate Republicans with McCain Decide to Approve Adding Senior Citizens to Stimulus Plan Additions to House bill adds 20 million seniors, 250,000 disabled veterans into those to get checks Feb. 7, 2008 – Democrats overcame the attempt by Republicans in the Senate to block senior citizens from receiving checks as part of the economic stimulus plan with help from Sen. John McCain, who did not vote yesterday when the plan was defeated by one vote. Senators Clinton and Obama voted for the plan yesterday but did not vote today as the Senate elements were added to the House play by a vote of 81 to 16. Read more...see how your senators voted... Republicans Block 20 Million Senior Citizens from Economic Stimulus Plan Senate bill needed just one more vote; Sen. McCain dodges vote that could have mattered
Feb. 7, 2008 – The Republicans – by one vote – blocked the passage of the economic stimulus package in the Senate and excluded over 20 million senior citizens and disabled veterans from receiving government checks that will be sent to more affluent Americans in an effort to boost the stalled U.S. economy. Read more..See how each Senator voted... Senate Should Vote Today to Add Senior Citizens to Stimulus Plan Majority Leader Reid says amendment to House bill adds 21.5 million seniors Feb. 6, 2007 – The Senate moved as expected yesterday to take up the economic stimulus plan approved by the House – HR 5140 – and to begin reshaping it to meet the recommendations of the Senate Finance Committee, which voted to add over 20 million senior citizens to the list of those who will receive government checks. Majority Leader Harry Reid offered the key amendments and a vote is expected today. Read more... Senate Considers House Stimulus Plan Today, Adds 20 Million Senior Citizens Tomorrow Senate bill to add seniors, disabled to those getting checks
Senior Citizen Entitlement Programs Take $208 Billion Hit in Bush Budget President lays out $3.1 trillion budget and again says Congress must solve financial future of Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security Feb. 4, 2008 - Entitlement programs – short for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security – will see spending cuts of $208 billion over the next five years, if the budget proposed today by President George W. Bush is approved. The cuts in these programs that primarily affect senior citizens are even larger than earlier estimates. The President, today, repeatedly laid the problem at the feet of Congress, as he did in the State of the Union address. Read more... Many Senior Citizens in Nursing Homes Will Not Be Voting Super Tuesday Committee on Aging focuses on voting barriers for senior citizens Feb. 4, 2008 – Last Thursday, Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) held a hearing on older voters and barriers they face in exercising their right to vote, with a specific focus on states participating in tomorrow’s Super Tuesday primaries. Kohl and Rules Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein also sent a letter requesting that the Election Assistance Commission conduct research on voting within long-term care settings and develop voluntary guidelines to help states facilitate such voting. Read more... Bush to Raise Medicare Drug Premiums, Cut Medicare $178 Billion in New Budget Most cuts from decreases in reimbursements to physicians, hospitals and other health care providers
Feb. 1, 2008 – Senior citizens seemed to be getting punched by the Republicans at every turn. This week the Senate Republicans refused to support a Finance Committee recommendation on the economic stimulus rebate program, because it included checks to 20 million low-income senior citizens. Now, it is reported that President Bush will raise the monthly premiums on Medicare drug plans in his budget on Monday, as well as, cut Medicare spending by $178 billion. Read more... Republicans Oppose Senior Citizens Sharing in Economic Stimulus Rebates Vote on Senate Finance Committee’s plan to include low-income seniors delayed Jan. 31, 2008 - The effort by the Senate Finance Committee to create an economic stimulus plan that would include 20 million senior citizens that are excluded from the House’s plan has quickly run into Republican opposition. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says the Senate will not vote on the proposal until next week, probably Wednesday. Read more... 20 Million Senior Citizens to Get Economic Stimulus Checks in Plan Approved by Finance Committee House plan excludes senior citizens with earned income of less that $3,000
Jan. 31, 2008 - By a vote of 14-7, the Senate Finance Committee last night voted to deliver $500 tax rebates to more than 20 million American senior citizens as part of an economic stimulus plan authored Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.). The Baucus legislation, which is slated for immediate consideration by the full Senate, will boost the American economy with $500 rebates for every American reporting $3000 in wages, Social Security income, or net self-employment income on a 2007 tax return. Read more... Senator Baucus Demands More Senior Citizens be Included in Economic Stimulus Plan House bill excludes many senior citizens from rebates due to income limit that does not include Social Security benefit Jan. 30, 2008 – By late today many senior citizens should have a better idea if they will be included in the government’s plan to stimulate the sinking economy by pouring billions of dollars into the hands of consumers and businesses. The House passed their version on Tuesday and the Senate Finance Committee is meeting on Wednesday afternoon to consider the proposal by Chairman Max Baucus (Democrat of Montana), which includes more senior citizens. Many seniors will not qualify for the House plan because they don’t have enough income. Read more... Super Tuesday Primaries to be Focus of Aging Committee Hearing on Thursday Chairman Kohl says topic will be accessibility for senior citizens Jan. 29, 2008 – During the recent Nevada primary, 45 percent of those voting Republican and 36 percent of Democrats were age 60 or older. Senior citizens have historically been more likely to vote than younger people but there is some concern that the new Voter ID law could hinder the voting of many seniors. Read more... State of the Union for America's Senior Citizens is Anything But Strong, Says Advocate Reaction by Barbara B. Kennelly of National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare Jan. 29, 2008 – One head of a senior advocacy group charged after last night’s State of the Union address that "For seven years this Administration has either attacked or neglected the programs that benefit older adults. Tonight's State of the Union address confirms that there will be no aging epiphany in the remainder of President Bush's last year in office. “ Read more... President Ducks on Solutions for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid in State of Union Bush says programs cost more than we can afford but Congress must find solutions Jan. 29, 2008 - Whenever a President gives the State of the Union address, senior citizens listen carefully for what may be proposed regarding the lifelines for many – Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Last night, some even feared President Bush would call for spending cuts in Medicare, but it did not happen. He just said the programs are costing more than we can afford and called on Congress to find the solutions. Read more... Senior Citizen Issues Seldom Mentioned in Campaigns or in Washington Bush required to send a Medicare savings plan to Congress; will address Medicare paycut for physicians in State of Union Jan. 22, 2008 – With a challenging presidential race in both parties and power in Washington divided between the two parties, it might be assumed there would be a lot of discussion of issues that are important to senior citizens, the most prolific voters. There has not been much – a brief squabble over funding Social Security between Democrats, a proposal by Sen. John McCain to allow prescription drug reimportation and the annual battle in the Washington over cutting the pay doctors get from Medicare is about it. But things could be getting more interesting. Read more... Democrats Try Again to Stop Medicare's Physician Pay Cut; Want More Medicaid Funds to Boost Economy Doctors’ 10% pay cut now scheduled for July 1; Medicaid funds to help states maintain eligibility levels Jan. 17, 2008 – With Congress back in full swing after the holiday break, Medicare and Medicaid are back on the congressional agenda. Democrats stopped a 10 percent cut in physician pay by Medicare in December but only by agreeing to delay it for six months. Now they are working on a longer-term solution. Democratic also want to include an increase in the matching funds states receive for Medicaid as part of an economic stimulus package, according to KaiserNetwork.org. Kohl, Harkin Senate Bill to Force Disclosure of 401K Management Fees Senators say high fees can take thousands from retirement savings Dec. 27, 2007 - Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, introduced legislation this month to protect American workers by ensuring they can access information on the cost of 401 (k) plan management fees. The Harkin/Kohl Defined Contribution Fee Disclosure Act of 2007 would require 401(k) plan providers to disclose all fees so that workers saving for retirement can make a fully informed decision about which plan is best for them, according to Sen. Kohl’s office. Read more... Medicare Reform Bill Passed in Senate Stops Physician Pay Cut Short-Term Bill has a number of provisions impacting Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP Dec. 19, 2007 – Late yesterday the Senate passed on a voice vote the Medicare reform legislation from the Finance Committee. The summary of Medicare provisions in the legislation being considered today in the House was released just yesterday by the Senate Finance Committee. The lead provision, which has garnered most of the public attention, addresses the 10 percent paycut for physicians that Medicare has approved for January. This bill offers a temporary solution - a 0.5% increase but just through June 30, 2008. Read more... Republicans Say Medicare Bill Must Have Unanimous Consent to Clear Senate Time running out on Democratic efforts to stop pay cut for Medicare physicians Dec. 17, 2007 – The attempt by Senate Democrats to stop the Bush Administration from cutting the Medicare pay of doctors by 10 percent on January 1 has hit a new roadblock laid down by Republicans. The GOP now says the only way to avoid their filibuster is to pass a bill with unanimous consent. This means, for one thing, that other Medicare reforms will have to be dropped. Read more... Medicare Legislation in Senate Facing GOP Filibuster on Private Firms’ Issues Sen. Baucus says package will not include cuts to Medicare Advantage
Dec. 14, 2007 - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday said that the chamber would wait for the Senate to craft Medicare legislation rather than write its own bill because of continued disagreement among lawmakers on what to include, CongressDaily reports (Johnson, CongressDaily, 12/13). The bill is being written to stop a scheduled 10% reduction in Medicare physician fees scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2008. Read more... Reverse Mortgage News for Seniors Reverse Mortgage Law Has Unhappy Birthday at Senate Aging Hearing Aging Committee hears horror story, Sen. McCaskill to offer legislation to assure senior citizens are protected Dec. 13, 2007 – Yesterday was the twentieth anniversary of the law establishing the reverse mortgage program, which allows Americans age 62 or older to transfer their home equity into a monthly income. The birthday celebration at the Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing, however, was not a happy one. One witness told how her mother suffered financial losses and mental stress from taking out a reverse mortgage. Read more... Efforts Failing to Stop Medicare from Cutting Physicians Pay, Other Reforms House unable to agree on adding Medicare package to alternative minimum tax bill
Dec. 12, 2007 - Legislation that would prevent middle-class U.S. residents from paying the alternative minimum tax heads to the House floor on Wednesday, but it does not contain Medicare provisions that would delay a scheduled 10% physician fee cut, CongressDaily reports. Read more... Reverse Mortgages to Get Critical Look from Senate Committee on Aging Sen. McCaskill leads investigation of ‘pressing need to strengthen consumer protections for seniors as they consider this type of loan’ Dec. 10, 2007 – The reverse mortgage program, which has boomed in recent years as a way for senior citizens to draw from the equity in their homes but continue to live in them, is in for some unusual scrutiny on Wednesday. A news release from the Senate’ Special Committee on Aging says Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) will hold a hearing to highlight the “pressing need to strengthen consumer protections for seniors as they consider this type of loan.” Read more... Senior Citizen Opinions & Analysis What Happens Every December? The Battle to Stop Medicare from Cutting Physician Pay Usually the proposed cuts are just pushed ahead but this year looks different - although Washington stockings are getting filled By Tucker Sutherland, editor Dec. 7, 2007 – Just like Thanksgiving comes every November, the battle over Medicare cutting the pay of doctors comes every December. Once again, Medicare has announced a big pay cut, the physicians and their lobby are pouring money into the political stockings held by the Washington politicians, and, alas, once again the pay cut will be avoided. This year, however, the stakes appear a little larger, battle lines are more skewed and it is harder to predict how the politicians will make it happen. Read more... Senior Citizen Politics Medicare Reform Hits Snag as Administration Threatens Veto if Physician Pay Cut is Reduced Medicare reform hits snag; Health groups want Medicare physicians to use electronic prescribing or face financial penalties Dec. 6, 2007 – The Medicare reform package be shaped in the Senate Finance Committee hit a snag yesterday and the Democratic chairman says he needs to consult with House Democrats before proceeding on the legislation. A major piece of the plan is to roll back the 10 percent pay cuts for doctors that Medicare is set to enforce for 2008. Republicans on the committee were fighting for a short-term roll back of the cut when a letter suddenly appeared from the Health and Human Services Secretary that threatened a Bush veto under certain conditions. Read more... Sen. Smith Leads Aging Committee Hearing on Welfare of Elderly Refugees Over 7,000 elderly and disabled refugees have lost SSI benefits, 16,000 may lose them soon Dec. 5, 2007 – A meeting of the Senate Special Committee on Aging today explored gaps in access to supportive services, looking specifically at the time refugees, those granted asylum and other humanitarian non-citizens legally residing in the U.S. are able to receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. Read more... Senior Advocates Petition Congress to Cut Subsidy to Private Medicare Plans Medicare reforms being shaped in Senate Finance Committee Dec. 5, 2007 – Two Medicare advocacy groups poured 48,000 petitions on Congress yesterday as part of their campaign to support Medicare reforms that will halt or reduce the subsidies paid to private Medicare providers. The senior citizens also waived two-dollar bills to symbolize the “extra money” they pay each month in Medicare premiums because of these industry subsidies. Read more... Drug Company Wants to Force $2,000 Cancer Drug to Replace $40 Avastin Sen. Kohl demands info on Genentech move that could cost Medicare $3 billion annually for treating of macular degeneration
Nov. 29, 2007 – Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) stepped to the front of the line late yesterday to intervene in a proposed limit by Genentech in the availability of its cancer drug Avastin to certain pharmaceutical compounding firms and pharmacies. Some physicians have charged that Genentech’s intention in limiting Avastin’s availability is to boost sales of Lucentis, a chemically-similar, yet far more expensive drug also produced by Genentech and approved to treat macular degeneration. Read more... Aging Committee Highlights Need for More Open Info About Nursing Homes Finance committee ranking member Grassley, top CMS official Kerry Weems to testify Nov. 15, 2007 - Today, U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) will hold a hearing to highlight the need for increased transparency and accountability with respect to information that is publicly available about nursing homes. Key testimony is expected from Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) on the need to strengthen the federal government’s system of nursing home regulation, outlining the main objectives of the Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act of 2007. Read more... Social Security News A Simple Fix for Social Security Problems Proposed by Think Tank Scholar Most know benefits increase with inflation but not that first year pay is determined by wages, which suggests the solution Nov. 9, 2007 – Everyone thinks Social Security benefits are increasing by 2.3 percent next year – the recent rate of inflation – but that is only partially true. It’s true for senior citizens already in the program but the new class joining Social Security 2008 will be getting 4.6 percent more than the incoming class of 2007. That’s based on the percentage increase in the Average Wage Index. Here lies the “Simple Fix for Social Security,” according to Alan D. Viard, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Read more... Senior Citizen Politics Senators Kohl, Harkin Offer Legislation to Make 401k Fees More Transparent Aging Committee hears that these fees threaten retirement security for seniors Oct. 25, 2007 - Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) will introduce legislation this week that will require complete transparency of 401(k) fees to both employers and participants. Kohl announced this action at a hearing of his committee on the “devastating effect” hidden 401(k) fees can have on the retirement savings of senior citizens and the need for simple and clear disclosure. Read more... Hidden 401-k Fees Threaten Retirement Security for Seniors Says Senate Aging Committee Chair Sen. Kohl calls hearing today on devastating fees hidden in law Oct. 24, 2007 - The Senate Special Committee on Aging will hold a hearing today on the devastating effect hidden 401(k) fees can have on retirement savings and the need for simple and clear disclosure. Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) says he will offer legislative changes. Read more... McCain’s Proposed Health Care Overhaul Could Impact Senior Citizens, Veterans Wants vets able to go to any health care provider, no Medicare pay for medical errors, more retail health clinics Oct. 12, 2007 - Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) on Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa, plans to announce a health care proposal that would seek to expand coverage through tax incentives and give people "more control and more choices," the AP/Long Island Newsday reports (Sidoti, AP/Long Island Newsday, 10/11). Read more... Senior Citizens Get About Half of Federal Budget in 2005: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid
Oct. 9, 2007 - Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, programs primarily serving senior citizens, accounted for more than $1 trillion of the $2.3 trillion the federal government spent in 2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which publishes the only consolidated source of data on the geographic distribution of federal expenditures. Read more... Bill Funding Efforts to Prepare Senior Citizens for Digital TV Offered by Kohl Sen. Kohl’s legislation aimed at filling gap left by government and industry planning for transition of nation’s television broadcast format Oct. 3, 2007 – Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, today introduced a bill to provide funding for non-profits, states and local governments, as well as, coordinate federal efforts, to prepare senior citizens for the nation’s switch to digital television in early 2009. Read more... Democrats Talk Older Americans’ Issues at AARP Iowa Forum Promote universal health care but with most arguing that costs could be largely offset by streamlining Medicare Sept. 21, 2007 – The five Democratic candidates for president who showed up at the forum last night sponsored by AARP and Iowa Public Television said all the things you would expect them to say when addressing older Americans - protect the future of Social Security, improve the Medicare drug program, increase health care spending, push for improved retirement programs and provide universal health care. Read more... Aging Committee Finds Need to Educate Senior Citizens on Change to Digital TV Nation changes to digital TV on Feb. 17, 2009 and senior citizens may be in the dark Sept. 19, 2007 – The Senate Special Committee on Aging today tried to shed more light on the nation’s transition to digital television (DTV), which many fear is a change that will disproportionately affect America’s senior citizens in a negative way, due to their lack of preparedness. Read more... Medicare News Changes to Medicare Pulled from SCHIP Bill by Negotiators Democrats vow to make another run at changes to Medicare Sept. 19, 2007 – Democrats, particularly in the House, made a bold attempt to make significant changes in Medicare as part of the bill to reauthorize and expand SCHIP, the federal program providing health insurance to lower income children. Those changes to Medicare were tossed by the Senate and House negotiators, but some Democrats say they will bring them up again. Read more... Senior Citizens' Political Issues Not on Minds of Politicians or Voters Top senior issue is Social Security picked by 4%, just 2% say Medicare Sept. 19, 2007 – Political issues traditionally branded as “senior citizen issues” are not receiving much attention in the presidential campaigns, but, the public does not seem to be very interested in them either. A recent Harris Poll found only four percent of the Americans ranking Social Security as an important issue but that was far ahead of other senior issues. Read more... Senior Citizens May Be Left in the Dark When Nation Switches to Digital TV Senate Aging committee hearing on lack of awareness, confusion, senior preparedness Sept. 17, 2007 – To the dismay of many senior citizens, the world just keeps on changing. A major change ahead is the switch to digital television, which many senior citizens may not understand or be aware is about to happen. Read more... Medicare Changes in SCHIP Bill Hinder Congressional Compromise Governors threaten to sue the administration over SCHIP restrictions Sept. 13, 2007 – Negotiators for the House and Senate have reached an impasse in trying to reach agreement on the bill to reauthorize and expand SCHIP. A major hang-up, as pointed out by KaiserNetwork.org, is the inclusion of a number of substantial changes in the Medicare program. Read more... Senior Citizen Issues Becoming an Issue for South Carolina Primary Lt. Gov. Bauer lays out list of boomer, elderly issues he wants addressed Sept. 12, 2007 – Issues of particular importance to senior citizens have received little attention, so far, from the presidential candidates. That may change soon, however, as André Bauer, Lt. Governor of South Carolina, which is a key primary state, has started a campaign to get the candidates to talk about how they will deal with senior issues and the “baby boomer tsunami.” Read more... Senators Kohl, Grassley Demand Drug Companies Reveal Gifts to Doctors McCaskill, Schumer, Klobuchar and Kennedy co-sponsor new bill Sept. 10, 2007 - U.S. Senators Herb Kohl (D-WI), chairman of the Senate’s committee on aging, and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) are introducing legislation to require manufacturers of pharmaceutical drugs, devices and biologics to disclose the amount of money they give to doctors through payments, gifts, honoraria, travel and other means. Read more... Larry Craig, Former Senate Aging Committee Chair, Busy Explaining Restroom Arrest Idaho Republican has consistently denied allegations of gay activity Aug. 28, 2007 – The former chairman of the Senate's Special Committee on Aging, Republican Larry Craig of Idaho, may have trouble holding on to his Senate seat, according to many in Washington, after it was revealed yesterday by Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper, that the three-term senator, "pleaded guilty earlier this month to misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges stemming from his June arrest by an undercover police officer in a men's restroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport." Read more... Senior Citizens will Like New Site Monitoring Claims by Presidential Candidates Site by CQ and St. Pete Times helps voters uncover the truth Aug. 28, 2007 – Senior citizens, an age group well-known for their interest in politics and their desire for factual political information, will probably enjoy a new Website that features a “truth-o-meter” that scores the truthfulness of specific claims by the presidential candidates. Read more... Presidential Campaign Passes Iraq in News but Old Men Lead in Dissatisfaction People not upset with election candidates or issues, just early start Aug. 20, 2007 - The 2008 Presidential campaign - with its crowded field and accelerated timetable - emerged as the leading story in the American news media in the second quarter of 2007, supplanting the policy debate over Iraq. But, the public – in particular older white men – have a negative view of the campaign, with just one-in-five with a favorable thing to say about it. Read more... Lawmakers to Reintroduce Bill Legalizing Experimental Medications for Terminally Sick Court rules terminally ill do not have right to unapproved prescription drugs, even if their physicians recommend
Aug. 17, 2007 - Lawmakers likely will reintroduce legislation that would require FDA to allow terminally-ill patients to purchase experimental drugs with the recommendation of their physician, CongressDaily reports. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) last session introduced the Access, Compassion, Care and Ethics for Seriously Ill Patients Act, but the bill "did not gain traction," according to CongressDaily. Read more... Allowing Those 55 to Buy-in to Medicare, Negotiated Drug Prices in Richardson Health Plan Presidential candidate wants more emphasis on preventive health care, too, as Sen. Clinton takes a turn as hospital nurse Aug. 8, 2007 – The Democratic presidential candidates have been taking turns to present their universal health care proposals and yesterday it was New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson’s turn. Some innovations in his plan that can impact senior citizens include letting those ages 55 to 64 pay to join Medicare, mandating negotiations on Medicare drug prices and more emphasis on preventive services. KaiserNetwork.org also notes today that Sen. Hillary Clinton will work a day next week as a hospital nurse. Read more... Senate Approves SCHIP with Veto-Proof Majority to Join House Bill Passed Wednesday House bill includes some important changes to Medicare Aug. 3, 2007 – The Senate approved the bill expanding SCHIP by billions over five years by a veto-proof margin but the White House is still promising a veto. The House version of the bill, called the CHAMP Act, also includes a number of changes to Medicare, including decreased funding for Medicare Advantage Plans and pay increases for physicians. Both houses intend to fund the expansion with increased taxes on cigarettes, according to the KaiserNetwork.org report. Read more... House Approved the CHAMP Act with Medicare Changes Five Republicans voted with 220 Democrats
Aug. 2, 2007 - The House on Wednesday voted 225-204 to approve legislation (HR 3162) that would reauthorize SCHIP and make changes to the Medicare program, Roll Call reports (Dennis, Roll Call, 8/2). Five Republicans voted with 220 Democrats to pass the measure, while 10 Democrats and 194 Republicans voted against it (Pear, New York Times, 8/2). Read more... Senate Begins Debate on SCHIP, House Agrees on Revisions House Dems agree to two-year limit stopping Medicare pay cuts to physicians July 31, 2007 - The Senate on Monday voted 80-0 to begin debate on legislation (S 1893) that would reauthorize SCHIP and expand funding for the program by $35 billion over five years, CongressDaily reports (Johnson, CongressDaily, 7/31). SCHIP expires on Sept. 30. Read more... Medicare Advantage Marketing Would Be Regulated by States in New Senate Bill Aging Committee’s Kohl says he is delivering on promise to ‘Hold Feet to the Fire’ July 27, 2007 – Although the major Medicare Advantage Plans agreed to stop marketing until they had cleaned up their act, after a multitude of criticism of overly-aggressive marketing tactics, it is not enough everybody in Washington. Yesterday, a group of U.S. Senators introduced a bill to allow the association representing state insurance commissioners to draw up marketing and sales regulations for the MAs, which are approved and subsidized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Read more... GOP Fails to Derail Democrat’s SCHIP Bill that Includes Medicare Changes Republicans offer their bill, says cost could be paid by cuts in Medicare, Medicaid July 26, 2007 – Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee lost a bid today to table a Democratic bill, the Children’s Health and Medicare Protection Act, which makes significant changes in Medicare. Yesterday, the Democrats delayed the vote to allow Republican’s more time to study the measure. But, it also gave them time to introduce their own version, which Committee ranking member Joe Barton (R-Texas) said could be paid for by cuts in Medicare and Medicaid. Read more... Democrats Offer SCHIP Bill that Increases Cigarette Tax, Reduces Medicare Advantage Pay Physician pay also gets increased, more preventive services in House bill: GOP prepares alternative
July 25, 2007 - House Democrats on Tuesday introduced legislation that would reduce payments to Medicare Advantage plans and increase the federal cigarette tax by 45 cents per pack to fund SCHIP and make revisions to Medicare, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports (Freking, AP/Houston Chronicle, 7/24). Read more... Medicare Advantage Pay Cuts, Physician Pay Raise in SCHIP Bill by Democrats Allows HHS Secretary to expand Medicare preventive services July 23, 2007 - House Democrats on Sunday announced that they will unveil draft legislation within the next several days that would increase SCHIP funding by $50 billion over five years and make revisions to Medicare, the New York Times reports. Read more... Senior Citizens Forced to Leave Their Homes by Medicare Cuts in Home Health Care Ed Koch, Bob Weiner want home care alternatives to nursing homes July 6, 2007 - Former Mayor and Congressman Ed Koch, and former U.S. House Aging Committee Chief of Staff Bob Weiner, have joined forces to urge Congress to restore Medicare funding to home health care that is being cut by the Bush administration. Read more... Aging Committee Chair’s National Registry of Drug Company Gifts to Docs Creates a Storm Proposal by Senators Kohl, McCaskill catch media’s attention July 2, 2007 – It was not a hearing that initially grabbed the headlines but the repercussions continue to grow. Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) held a hearing last week to examine the pharmaceutical industry’s costly practice of providing payments and gifts to doctors, and to consider what kind of influence this wields over some of the nation’s physicians. He announced he will propose a national registry to require disclosure of payments and gifts, and this caught the media’s attention. Committee member Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said she will join with Kohl. Read more... Payment Cuts for All Medicare Advantage Plans Would Save $54 Billion Savings for years 2009 to 2012 by Congressional Budget Office June 29, 2007 - Congressional Budget Office Director Peter Orszag on Thursday at a House Budget Committee hearing said that a reduction of reimbursements to private fee-for-service plans in Medicare Advantage would not result in large savings, CQ HealthBeat reports. Read more.. Does Negative Poll on McCain Indicate Senior Citizens Want a Democrat? About half of adults say they won't vote for him, 59% of seniors By Tucker Sutherland, editor June 27, 2007 – A new Harris Poll indicates there is little chance for Senator John McCain to become the U.S. President, because 47 percent of U.S. adults say they would not vote for him. Who is most likely to say they would not vote for him – senior citizens, of course, who seem to always be at the extreme end of polls. Read more... Rep. Dingell Blasts Medicare Advantage Plans’ Sales Tactics at Hearing Chairman of Energy and Commerce says Medicare Advantage marketing practices are disgraceful June 26, 2007 – A House subcommittee hearing today opened with a blistering statement of charges and penetrating questions from Democratic Congressman John D. Dingell, Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. The hearing, held by the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation, was entitled Predatory Sales Practices in Medicare Advantage. Read more... Senate Aging Committee Focuses on $19 Billion Drug Companies Give Physicians ‘Paid to Prescribe? Exploring the Relationship Between Doctors and the Drug Industry’ is hearing title June 26, 2007 - How much are the prescribing decisions by physicians influenced by the reported $19 billion in money and gifts given to them each year by the pharmaceutical industry? That is what Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) hopes to find out in a committee hearing on Wednesday. Read more... U.S. Spends $80 Billion Fighting Diabetes: 1 of Every 8 Federal Health Care Dollars Study finds need for better coordination to improve results fighting major chronic disease for senior citizens June 23, 2007 – One of every eight dollars the U.S. government spends on health care is spent on treating people – primarily senior citizens – with diabetes. This study was presented on Tuesday at a Capitol Hill briefing by the National Changing Diabetes Program and the Congressional Diabetes Caucus in an effort to increase the viability and the government coordination of the fight against this disease. Read more... House Moves Forward to Give FDA More Power to Regulate Postmarket Drugs KaiserNetwork.org says ‘strong bipartisan support’ noted by Dow Jones June 20, 2007 – The Food and Drug Administration may soon have new power to regulate drug safety, particularly after the drugs are on the market. It has long been a complaint of senior citizen advocacy groups and others that the agency is slow to act when problems begin to emerge with drugs they have already approved for consumers. The most recent case to draw attention to this problem was the diabetes drug Avandia, which was found by independent researchers to increase the risk of heart attack. Evidence indicates the FDA already knew of the problems but had taken no action. Read more... Social Security News Immigration Bill to Pay $966 Billion in Social Security to Illegal Workers, Senior League Claims TREA Senior Citizens League to testify today before House subcommittee on immigration June 19, 2007 - The immigration bill being debated by the Senate would allow over two million illegal workers who received Social Security numbers prior to 2004 to receive more than $966 billion in Social Security benefits by 2040, according to the TREA Senior Citizens League. Read more... Senior Citizen Politics Consumers Union Puts Human Face on Weak Prescription Drug Safety Laws Ad campaign starts as House panel takes up drug safety legislation June 12, 2007 - Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, is launching a coordinated advertising and activism effort today as a cap to its two-year battle to strengthen drug safety laws. Congress is poised this summer to take up the most significant prescription drug safety legislation in 45 years. Read more... Senate Bill Would Create Nationwide Background Checks for Long-Term Care Workers Predators sometimes hired to care for our most vulnerable citizens, say sponsors June 8, 2007 – A bill was introduced in the Senate today that would prevent those with criminal histories from working within long-term care settings by establishing a nationwide system of background checks. Read more... Hearings on Prescription Drug Safety Could Highlight 'Dissention' Among FDA Officials Lawmakers have noted rift between the approval and safety offices
May 31, 2007 - A House hearing on June 6 to examine FDA's regulation of prescription drugs in the wake of recent safety concerns "may highlight the growing internal dissension between officials who approve drugs and those who track the safety" of approved drugs, the New York Times reports. Read more... Senior Citizen Democrats Among Strongest Supporters of Clinton, Gallup Finds Senior citizens give Clinton wide margin over Obama May 24, 2007 – A Gallup poll released today shows senior citizens, who are Democrats or Democratic leaners, strongly support Sen. Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. They also choose Clinton by a wide margin over second place candidate Barack Obama. Read more... New Group Says Chronic Disease Should be Key Health Care Issue in 2008 Election Chronic disease accounts for 7 in 10 deaths, over 75 cents of every health care dollar spent in U.S. May 16, 2007 - Chronic diseases are responsible for seven out of every 10 deaths in the U.S. and a new coalition has formed behind the goal of making the issue of chronic disease the key health care issue in the 2008 presidential election. What were described by the organizations as “leading experts and organizations in the health care, business, and labor communities” came together yesterday to launch the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD). Read more... Medicare News Medicare Advantage Marketing Tactics Get Scrutiny of Senate Aging Committee Chairman Kohl notes some plans have announced reforms May 16, 2007 – Amidst growing concern about the aggressive marketing tactics of Medicare Advantage plans, the Senate Select Committee on Aging held a hearing today that shed new light on the problem from the point of view of the senior citizen consumer, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid and the insurance companies. Read more... Senior Citizen Politics The Age Factor: Older Americans Most Negative About Iraq War, Says Gallup Older Americans, especially those 70 and up, are most likely to say war was a mistake By Frank Newport, Gallup News Service May 11, 2007 - A special Gallup Poll analysis of more than 7,000 interviews conducted this year shows that older Americans are more likely than those who are younger to believe that going to war in Iraq was a mistake. Americans who are 70 and older are particularly more likely to say the war was a mistake. The impact of age on views of the war persists among subgroups of Republicans, independents, and Democrats, and also occurs regardless of one's gender. Read more... Medicare does not provide incentives for physicians to coordinate chronic conditions May 10, 2007 - U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) chaired a Special Committee on Aging hearing titled, “The Future of Medicare: Recognizing the Need for Chronic Care Coordination,” on yesterday and took advantage of the opportunity to introduce Medicare legislation she has tried to pass since 2001. The bill would link eligible seniors suffering from chronic illnesses with a qualified health professional to coordinate their care. Read more... Effort by Senate Democrats to Allow Cheaper Drug Imports Goes No Where Republican maneuvers keep things they way they are May 8, 2007 – The actions in the Senate were wild and confusing but the final result was the blocking by Republicans of the attempt by Democrats to allow the reimportation of drugs from outside the U.S., where they can be purchased much more cheaply. Advocates for senior citizens, including the AARP, have fought to allow buying drugs from other countries, in particular from Canada. Many see this as another victory for the pharmaceutical industry lobby. Read more... Democratic Domestic Agenda Stalled By Debate on Issues Related to Iraq War GOP blocks Medicare drug negotiations, Bush vows veto on stem cell research May 7, 2007 - The Democratic agenda on health care and other domestic issues – much directly related to senior citizens - "appeared to be flying through the Capitol" in the early weeks of the 110th Congress, but "that initial progress has foundered" as lawmakers continue to debate issues related to the Iraq war, the Washington Post reports. Read more... Senate Aging Committee Hears Testimony on Nursing Home Problems Chairman Kohl to introduce legislation to create streamlined system of job applicant background checks May 3, 2007 - Many nursing homes shown to be providing substandard care are still not being subjected to tough sanctions to motivate lasting improvements for and safety of residents, according to testimony presented yesterday by Kathryn Allen, Director of Health Care, Government Accountability Office. She was among several witnesses at a hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging chaired by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI). Read more... Capitol Awash in Medicare Bills Including One to Let Everyone Join Key bill reduces reimbursements to Medicare Advantage Plans March 30, 2007 – The Capitol seems to be awash with Medicare legislation. A key member of House Ways and Means says he will introduce a bill to reduce Medicare reimbursements to Advantage plans, a powerful senator joined a powerful House member to introduce legislation to allow those under 65 to join Medicare, a bipartisan group offered a bill to expand reimbursements for colorectal cancer screening and, another group of advocates want an end to the Medicare waiting period for people with disabilities. These are recent reports from KaiserNetwork.org. Read more... WSJ Examines Insurance Lobbyists' Fight to Stop Medicare Advantage Cuts Budget analysts: Congress could save $54 billion over 5 years if it reduced Medicare Advantage reimbursements April 30, 2007 - The Wall Street Journal on Monday examined how insurers are working to stop the proposed cuts to Medicare Advantage payments. As part of its lobbying campaign, America's Health Insurance Plans on Monday is scheduled to introduce a "minority advisory committee" -- made up of more than 30 black, Hispanic and Asian-American leaders from 16 states, the Journal reports. Read more... Consumers Union Calls for Congress to Act Now on Drug Safety FDA questions about Zyprexa data highlights Senate vote this week April 30, 2007 - The news last week that the Food and Drug Administration is examining whether the maker of Zyprexa failed to submit clinical trial data about the harmful side effects of the antipsychotic drug underscores the urgent need for Congress to pass drug-safety legislation, says Consumers Union. The Senate is slated to vote on a package of reforms this week. Read more... Senate Aging Committee to Look at Challenges of Improving Long-Term Care Marks 20th Anniversary of Landmark Nursing Home Reform Act April 28, 2007 – A hearing by the Senate Special Committee on Aging on Wednesday, May 2, will probe the progress that has been made under the Nursing Home Reform Act – often referred to as OBRA '87. Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) says the committee will also explore current and future challenges to attain a higher level of safety and quality of care for senior citizens in long-term care facilities. Read more... Who Says Bush Did Right Thing in Going to War in Iraq? Are senior citizens more likely than the young to back the President? April 23, 2007 - The younger adults thinks the U.S. should have stayed out of Iraq, while senior citizens stand behind their President. WRONG. Almost half (48%) of those age 18 to 29 support Bush going to war, while only 28% of those 65 and older think it was the right thing to do, according to a New York Times/CBS News Poll. Read more... Senior Advocates, Democrats Say Fight Not Over for Negotiated Medicare Drug Prices AARP says it will continue to fight to make prescription drugs more affordable April 19, 2007 - Although Republicans yesterday blocked Senate Bill (S.3), which would allow Medicare to negotiate better prices on prescription drugs for senior citizens, senior advocacy groups, such as AARP, and Democrats say the fight is not over. Read more... Families USA Report Challenges GOP Claim of Lower Medicare Drug Prices Shows prices grew almost four times faster that inflation April 19, 2007 – A report released yesterday by Families USA says assertions by Republicans and the Bush Administration that the current Medicare prescription drug program has brought down drug prices, the opposite has occurred. "Prices of the most-prescribed drugs for seniors rose steeply last year," the report says. Read more... Republicans Block Senate Bill Allowing Negotiating Better Prices on Medicare Drugs Democrats fall short of 60 votes needed for floor consideration April 18, 2007 – Republicans in the U.S. Senate this morning successfully blocked consideration of a bill presented by the finance committee that would have allowed the government to negotiate for better prices from drug makers for senior citizens in the Medicare drug program. The Democrats needed 60 votes to get the bill to the floor but the vote was 55-42. “This vote gives the short end of the stick to America’s seniors,” said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.). Read more... Democrats May Lack Votes to End Debate on Bill Allowing Negotiations on Medicare Drugs AARP wants bill, says it will let members know how senators vote April 17, 2007 – In a matter of hours, the U.S. Senate will consider a bill from the Senate Finance committee that will "allow" the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate with industry for better drug prices for senior citizens in the Medicare drug program. The battle lines have become more rigid this week and it appears the Democrats lack the 60 votes needed to end debate. AARP, who wants this to pass, says it will be sure members know how senators vote. Read more... Bill to Negotiate for Better Medicare Drug Prices Passed by Finance Committee Amended S. 3 expected to go to full Senate next week April 13, 2007 – The Senate Finance Committee last night approved a final version of a bill that will allow, but not mandate, the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate for lower drug prices in the Medicare prescription drug program. Read more... Medicare Drug Program News AARP Starts Media Campaign Urging Lawmakers to Allow Negotiations for Medicare Drugs New bill also introduced to do away with late enrollment penalty March 26, 2007 – AARP, a giant broker of insurance to senior citizens and other adults, was a strong supporter of the original Medicare drug program but has now decided it needs a major change. AARP is launching a media campaign aimed at getting lawmakers to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices with the pharmaceutical companies, according to a report today by KaiserNetwork.org. Read more... NIH Director Disagrees with Bush, Wants Fed Funding for Embryonic Stem Cell Research Elias Zerhouni tells Senate committee he supports lifting Bush restrictions on federal funds March 20, 2007 - NIH Director Elias Zerhouni on Monday during a Senate Appropriations Committee subcommittee hearing on National Institutes of Health funding for fiscal year 2008 said that he supports lifting restrictions on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research, the Los Angeles Times reports (Alonso-Zaldivar/Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, 3/20). Federal funding for embryonic stem cell research is allowed only for research using embryonic stem cell lines created on or before Aug. 9, 2001, under a policy announced by President Bush on that date. Read more... House Begins Hearings on Pay Cut for Medicare Advantage Programs Humana could be the big loser says AP report March 20, 2007 – Humana is in line to be the big loser if Congress decides to cut payments to companies that run Medicare Advantage Plans, according to an Associated Press report in the Cincinnati Enquirer. And, as the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee opens hearings tomorrow, the Humana case is not helped by public records released Friday showing the company's president, Michael B. McCallister, was paid $5.87 million last year. Read more... Reduction in Disease Prevention Budget at CDC Questioned by Lawmakers CDC’s director says cuts hinder efforts as senior citizens, children appear less healthy
March 12, 2007 - CDC Director Julie Gerberding said on Friday at a hearing of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies that the federal government should spend more on disease prevention "but admitted under Democratic questioning that President Bush's budget proposal shortchanges the effort," CQ HealthBeat reports. Read more... Medicare News Democrats Consider Eliminating Extra Pay to Medicare Advantage Plans to Raise Physician Pay Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's report under fire on docs’ pay March 7, 2007 - Democrats this year are making "concerted efforts" to cut Medicare Advantage payment rates "as a way to finance other spending priorities," such as fixing a scheduled 10% reduction in Medicare physician payments, CQ HealthBeat reports. Read more... Aging Committee Hearing Sparks Two Bills by Sen. Kohl to Encourage Older Workers Economic growth may decline significantly due to declining labor force March 1, 2007 - Two bills that will give older Americans the opportunity to work longer, if they choose, and offer incentives to businesses for employing older workers, were introduced yesterday by Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI). The action followed a committee hearing that heard testimony that economic growth could decline significantly as a result of the declining labor force due to the aging society. Read more... Senior Citizens Least Likely to Think U.S. Will Succeed in Iraq Confidence in war and most other national issues declining rapidly Feb. 20, 2007 - Public support and confidence for the war in Iraq continues to decline and it is senior citizens that are far more pessimistic about the prospects than younger Americans, according to recent poll by the Pew Research Center. Read more... Committee Passes Bill to Prevent Drug Companies from Conspiring to Block Generics Feb. 17, 2007 - The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved legislation (S 316) that would prohibit brand-name pharmaceutical companies from paying generic drug companies to delay market introduction of generic competitors, CQ Today reports. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), chairman of the Senate's Special Committee on Aging, was approved by a voice vote with no amendments. Read more... Senate Aging Committee Minority Leader Objects to Bush Budget Cuts for CMS Sen. Smith no longer chairman but demanding answers from CMS Feb. 17, 2007 – Although no longer committee chairman, Republican Gordon Smith of Oregon called a hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging and again put the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on the hot seat. Smith was expressing his concern about budget cuts proposed by President Bush and the growth of the Medicare Advantage plans for both drug and health care. Read more... Rep. Waxman Investigates Profits of Medicare Prescription Drug Plans Wants to know if plans pass negotiated savings on to beneficiaries Feb. 12, 2007 - The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Friday held a hearing about how private insurance plans and pharmacy benefit managers negotiate prices with drug manufacturers for government prescription drug programs and whether these discounts get passed on to consumers, CQ HealthBeat reports. Read more... Senior Citizen Politics Magic Phrase 'Forget Inflation' Drives Bush Cuts in Medicare, Medicaid 'Would harm those seniors who depend upon America's hospitals' Feb. 8, 2007 – President Bush has proposed taking $101.5 billion out of the budget for Medicare and Medicaid. The secret for how this might happen is the phrase, "Forget about inflation." At least that is what he is saying to healthcare providers whose pay he does not want to increase with inflation, and to the senior citizens facing Medicare premium increases as their income hits certain levels. Currently, these levels for higher premiums are set to increase with inflation, but if the Bush idea prevails, they will be frozen and increasing numbers of senior will fall over the edge as inflation pushes their incomes higher. KaiserNetwork.org picked up the details on Tuesday. Read more... Seniors Falling Prey to Aggressive Tactics of Private Insurers Says Report Consumer advocates say lack of government oversight increases risk of losing access, paying more for health care Feb. 6, 2007 - Insurance agents are pushing people with Medicare into private health plans that do not meet their health care or financial needs, according to a new report by consumer groups. In its study, California Health Advocates and the Medicare Rights Center detail the "unscrupulous sales practices of insurers" and call for heightened government oversight of private insurers selling Medicare health and drug plans. Read more... Bush Budget Chops $101.5 Billion from Medicare, Medicaid Budget savings from higher premiums for some seniors, revised regulations Feb. 5, 2007 - President Bush on Monday released a $2.8 trillion fiscal year 2008 budget proposal that includes $101.5 billion in savings from Medicare and Medicaid over five years, the New York Times reports. The budget includes more than $78.6 billion in Medicare and Medicaid savings, and, according to the New York Times, it also includes revisions to federal regulations for an additional $22.9 billion in savings from the two programs. Read more... Higher Income Seniors to Pay More for Medicare Drug Plans in New Budget Higher premiums based on income began this year for Part B Feb 4, 2007 – Higher income senior citizens will pay higher premiums in Medicare's drug program next year, if a budget proposal by President Bush is approved. It was reported last week that President Bush will propose reducing $70 billion from Medicare and Medicaid in his new budget to be released Monday. The New York Times reports today that one part of the Bush plan is to impose a surcharge on premiums for Medicare’s prescription drug benefit, as he did this year for those in Medicare Part B. Read more... Pharmaceutical Company Misdeeds Being Exposed in Washington Pricing problems, failure to do promised studies found, Dems want more regulation February 2, 2007 – As might have been expected, the scrutiny of pharmaceutical companies is escalating with a Democratic congress. A senate committee has found pricing irregularities in Medicaid, the FDA finds they have not begun 71% of post-approval studies that were promised as a condition of FDA approval of a drug, and Democrats have introduced legislation to require increased prescription drug regulation by the FDA. Read more... Medicare, Medicaid May Save $70 Billion in New Bush Budget Proposal 'He still acts as if Republicans were in complete control and Democrats had lost the election,' Sen. Rangel (D-N.Y.) February 2, 2007 – President Bush is expected to unveil his plan next week for balancing the budget and over $70 billion of the savings are expected to come from Medicare and Medicaid, two programs of critical importance to most senior citizens. Higher Medicare premiums for higher income seniors and holding back on the fees paid to home health agencies, hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers are expected to produce most of the savings, according to the New York Times. Democrats are not welcoming these ideas, finds KaiserNetwork.org. Read more... Senate's Special Committee on Aging Holds First Hearing Under Democrats Focus was on how to enroll more senior citizens in Medicare drug program February 1, 2007 – The Senate Special Committee on Aging is off and running under the new Democratic leadership but the Website is not. The new committee chaired by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis) held a hearing yesterday but few knew, since there was no press release from the committee. A link did go up offering a live video link to the hearing but did not appear to be operational. According to reports gathered by KaiserNetwork.org, the hearing focused on the need for improved efforts at enrolling senior citizens in the Medicare drug program. Read more... Members Named to Senate's Special Committee on Aging No sign of activity on the committee Website but chairman busy January 26, 2007 – The Democrats in the U.S. Senate may be busy with legislation but they are slow on getting their new committees in action, at least the Special Committee on Aging, which is now chaired by Democrat Herb Kohl, 71, of Wisconsin, who was the ranking Democrat in the last congress. Both parties, however, have named the members to the committee. Gordon Smith of Oregon, the former chairman, will be the ranking Republican. Read more... Senate Bill to Stop Pay-Offs that Delay Generic Drugs Coming to Market Key sponsor is Herb Kohl, new chair of Special Committee on Aging January 26, 2007 – A practice that has long aggravated many senior citizens, struggling to pay for the prescription drugs they need, may soon come to an end. A bill to "explicitly" prohibit brand-name drug manufacturers from using pay-off agreements to keep less expensive generic equivalents off the market was announced in the senate by the new chairman of the Special Committee on Aging, Herb Kohl (D-WI). Read more... Older Americans Pick Iraq and Immigration as Top Issues Facing U.S. Younger adults also pick Iraq but think strengthening the economy should be number 2 January 24, 2007 – As is usually the case, senior citizens do not agree with younger adults on many of the issues that should be addressed in the United States and that they wanted President Bush to address in his State of the Union speech, according to a Harris Poll taken in mid-January. "Mature" Americans (age 62 and over) tended to pick "war in Iraq" and "improving immigration policy" when asked to choose two issues from a prepared list that they thought President Bush should address. Read more... Senior Citizens Hear Little on Social Security or Medicare in State of Union 'Senior citizens' never mentioned and 'elderly' mentioned once January 24, 2007 – Although President Bush spoke for nearly an hour in delivering the State of the Union address last night, the entitlement programs, which primarily serve America's 37 million senior citizens, was mentioned in only one paragraph. The term "senior citizens" was not used at all and "elderly" was used once. Read more... Media Already Awash with Opinions on Bush's Yet-to-Be-Delivered Speech Polls show health care affordability is top worry of the public January 23, 2007 – Proposals President Bush is expected to make tonight in his State of the Union address are already drawing much reaction, according to KaiserNetwork.org. The center piece of the speech will be proposals the White House says will make health insurance more affordable. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) told the Associated Press the proposal "won't help the uninsured, most of whom have limited incomes and are already in low tax brackets." Stark is chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee's subcommittee on Health. Many Democrats, however, were more hopeful. Read more... Senior Citizens Not Likely to Hear Much on Retiree Programs in State of Union Focus of speech will be health care insurance but not supplemental insurance January 23, 2007 – The State of the Union address by President George W. Bush tonight will focus on a health care program providing tax incentives for Americans to purchase health insurance but a spokesperson said yesterday that it was not clear if this would include supplemental health insurance purchased by millions of senior citizens to fill the health care gaps in Medicare. No advance notice was provided to indicate the president may address changes in either Social Security of Medicare. Read more... Fed Chief Continues Greenspan Warnings of Financial Disaster from Entitlements Medical costs growing faster than wages, booming elderly population spell trouble January 19, 2007 – It was not exactly news, but Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a senate committee yesterday that spending on entitlement programs – Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid – will climb quickly in the next decade. This warning of the disastrous effect of entitlement spending on the nation as Americans live longer and medical costs climb faster than personal incomes was a common warning from his predecessor, Alan Greenspan. Read more... Veterans are Satisfied with Prescription Drug Program that Provides Better Prices New group seeking ideas on improving vet health care in the future January 17, 2007 – While Democrats were touting the Department of Veterans Affairs prescription drug program as a model for negotiating better prices on drugs, the Republicans were saying this is possible because the drug program for vets is so limited and will not serve the needs of seniors. Veteran groups, however, say America's veterans are happy with their program. But, to even improve health care for veterans, a new group is touring the country seeking "innovative, long-term strategies." In the daily report on Medicare by KaiserNetwork.org there is also confirmation that President Bush intends to veto the House passed drug bill. Read more... Opinion Pieces Examine Medicare Prescription Drug Negotiation Bill Everyone sees the problem but has a different idea on fixing it January 16, 2007 - Several newspapers recently published editorials and opinion pieces that discussed the bill passed last week by the House that would require the HHS secretary to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies on prices for medications under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Summaries of some appear below. Read more... House Passes Bill to Mandate HHS Negotiations on Medicare Drug Prices January 12, 2007 - The House of Representative early this afternoon passed HR 4, which mandates the Secretary of Health & Human Services negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for better prices for senior citizens in the Medicare drug program. Read more... Editorials, Opinion Writers Wade into Medicare Drug Negotiation Debate January 12, 2007 – A round-up of editorials and opinion pieces from around the nation were gathered today by KaiserNetwork.org. The vote is scheduled for today in the House of Representatives. Read more... Consumers Union Urges Passage of Price Negotiation for Medicare Drugs Studies show real savings possible for seniors citizens, taxpayers January 12, 2007 - Consumers Union is urging Congress this week to give Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, as yet another study finds that prices paid by seniors in the Medicare drug program are more than twice that paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs, which negotiates prices. Read more... New York Times Urges Congress Pass HR 4: Bargain Medicare Drug Prices Suggests HHS Secretary negotiate just on prices most out of line January 12, 2007 - The New York Times today editorially supported HR 4, the Democrat-crafted legislation to have Health & Human Services negotiate with drug companies for better prices for senior citizens in the Medicare drug program. Read more... House Votes Today on Negotiating Medicare Drug Prices in Shadow of Bush Veto Not much coverage in national news on important vote for senior citizens January 12, 2007 – It’s an important day for more than 30 million American senior citizens who depend on the Medicare prescription drug program to help lower their skyrocketing drug costs. The House is expected to pass legislation that will mandate the government negotiate prices for these drugs with the drug-makers, rather than leaving this in the hands of the private insurance plans. Read more... CMS Joins Those Saying Negotiating Drug Prices for Medicare Will Not Work Cites weakness is allowing establishment of preferred list of drugs January 11, 2007 – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services threw its hat in the ring with those saying the Democrats' proposal for negotiating with drug companies for lower prices will not accomplish its goal of lowering drug prices. The statement from CMS further highlights what has become the focal point of debate – the legislation does not allow the establishment of a preferred list of drugs, which would give the government negotiating power with the companies that want their drugs on this list. Read more... Negotiating Medicare Drug Prices Hits Obstacles: CBO Sees No Savings, GOP Senators to Filibuster Most news is bad news for proponents of bargaining for drugs January 11, 2007 – With debate beginning today and a vote expected tomorrow on the Democratic proposal (HR 4) to have the Secretary of Health & Human services negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for better prices on drugs marketed through the Medicare drug program, a splash of cold water on the idea came in a letter from the Congressional Budget Office saying the drug prices would not be lowered by the legislation. Basically, Acting CBO Director Donald B. Marron said he doubted the government could do a better job that the prescription drug plans. (See CBO letter below news report.) Read more... Medicare Drug Program News Administration Says Medicare Drug Program Cost Drop Shows No Need to Negotiate on Drugs Most antifraud complain reports by prescription drug plans are missing at CMS January 8, 2007 – Immediately after the Bush Administration announced revised estimates that lower the expected cost of the Medicare drug benefit, Health & Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt says it proves there is no need for negotiated drug prices. The Medicare daily report by KaiserNetwork.org also finds problems with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services missing antifraud "compliance plans" from Medicare prescription drug plans. (The complete news release from HHS is below news report.) Read more... Medicare Drug Program News Critics Take Stage as Dems Push Bill Forcing Medicare to Bargain on Drug Prices Pelosi spokesman says savings should start to close donut hole January 8, 2007 – As Congress prepares to take action this week on the Democrats’ proposal to require Medicare to negotiate for lower prices from the drug companies (HR 4), a survey of news reports by KaiserNetwork.org finds doubters and critics grabbing the spotlight. Two items being most discussed are a portion of the bill that prohibits Medicare from using a preferred list of drugs and suggestions that the donut hole can be eliminated with savings from lower drug prices. Read more... Medicare News Medicare Solvency Ranked Third in Health Care Priorities by Opinion Leaders Most want Congress to cover uninsured, reduce health care costs January 8, 2007 – The top health care priority over the next five years for Congress should be expanding coverage for the uninsured, says a new survey. Reforming Medicare to ensure it's long-term solvency came in third, just below the priority of moderating rising health care costs. The Commonwealth Fund released the survey today of what it says are "leading health care experts." Read more... Senior Citizen Politics Democrats Today Put Senior Citizen Issues High on Agenda for New Congress Lower drug prices, more stem cell research, higher minimum wage should help seniors January 4, 2007 - The Democrats took charge of Congress today with specific plans on the first legislation they intend to pass, which includes several of significant importance to senior citizens. At the top of this list for most seniors is the legislation that will order Medicare to negotiate with the pharmaceutical companies for lower priced drugs. The House leadership says that will happen Friday, January 12. This is the fourth bill on the House list. New Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says it will be Senate Bill 3 in the new senate. Read more... Strengthening Social Security Rated as Very Important in Harris Poll Majority support health care proposals by Democrats in AP Poll; Gallup finds Iraq War still the top issue January 3, 2007 - As the new Congress is sworn in tomorrow, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and the Democrat leadership will find that saving Social Security is still very important to the American public, with almost nine in 10 U.S. adults (88%) saying they would support reform to ensure that the Social Security fund has enough money to provide benefits for all Americans for the next fifty years. The question was much broader than one that would measure support for specific reforms, like the private investment accounts promoted by President Bush but spurned by Congress and the voters. Read more... Clock Starts Thursday on Democrat Pledges for Negotiated Drug Prices, Freeing Up Stem Cell Research New speaker wants insurers to offer same coverage for mental illnesses as for physical conditions January 2, 2007 – Democrats take control of the Congress on Thursday and the clock starts ticking on the pledge to pass legislation mandating Medicare negotiate for better prices from the drug companies and restrictions are lifted on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research – both vehemently opposed by President George W. Bush. These are just two of the hottest health care items the Democrats are expected to be pushing. One problem, however, is they have not found the money to plug the donut hole in the prescription drug program that is despised by so many senior citizens. Read more... Democrats Face Opposition on Bills to Negotiate Drug Prices, Plug 'Donut Hole' Provision added secretly by Hastert to help home-state Medicare Advantage company may get eliminated December 18, 2006 – The Democrat's promise of a bill early next year to force the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for better prices on Medicare drugs appears to have a problem, according to the latest report from KaiserNetwork.org. And, there are problems seen in trying to pass other parts of their health care agenda, including getting rid of the infamous 'donut hole' in the drug program, where senior citizens have no coverage. Read more... Democrats Will 'Mandate' Negotiations for Medicare Prescription Drugs: Pelosi Bill one of six to be passed in first 100 days of new Congress December 15, 2006 - Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday at a briefing outlined priorities for Democrats in the first 100 hours of the 110th Congress and said they will seek to pass legislation that would require HHS to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies on the prices of medications under the Medicare prescription drug benefit, CQ HealthBeat reports. Read more... Medicare News Medicare Issues Getting Much Attention in Closing Days of Congress Diabetes treatment, review of anemia medication rules top list December 6, 2006 – The final days of this Congress are seeing considerable focus on Medicare issues. A group of senators have asked Health & Human Services to make diabetes screening and prevention a "top priority" for Medicare. Tomorrow, the House Ways and Means Committee will consider Medicare's coverage of anemia medication used to treat patients with end-stage renal disease. And, outside Congress, a meeting of advocates expressed their desire to see "patient-centered care" linked to Medicare reimbursements with pay-for-performance measures. Read more... Senior Citizen Politics Senior Citizens' Political Hot Buttons Not High with Most Americans Social Security, Medicare rank low in polls by Harris, Gallup November 30, 2006 – As the new year approaches and the new Democrat Congress considers their agenda, the hot button issues for senior citizens and older baby boomers are far down the list of importance for most Americans. Two recent polls – Harris and Gallup – show Social Security and Medicare are not among the most important issues. Read more... Democrats Targeting Cuts in $27.6 Billion Paid to Medicare Advantage Plans, Says AP November 23, 2006- Associated Press writer Kevin Freking reports today that "Soon to be in charge of Congress, Democrats are looking to chip away at billions of dollars in payments to the health insurance companies that run Medicare's managed care programs." Freking says the cuts could range up to about $27.6 billion over five years, an amount the industry says would reduce the number of managed care plans serving senior citizens and the disabled. Under traditional Medicare, health care providers bill the government for the services they perform. But with "Medicare Advantage" managed care, the insurers get a set amount per person. Then, the insurers reimburse the people who provide the care. Read more at Yahoo/AP, click Wisconsin’s Senator Herb Kohl to Become Chair of Senate Special Committee on Aging 71-year-old senior citizen will also have other heavy duty in new Congress November 19, 2006 – A fellow senior citizen is in line to take over the chairmanship of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging. The bad news, because it could mean less attention to issues impacting senior citizens, Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WIS) will also head two other committees in the new Democrat led Congress, the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Related Agencies and the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights. And, he has been named to serve on the important Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee when the 110th Congress convenes next year. Read more... Medicare Drug Program News Bush Administration Does Not Want to Negotiate Medicare Drug Prices HHS Secretary tells New York Times he sees no compromise November 13, 2006 – The Bush administration will "strenuously oppose" legislation authorizing Health & Human Services to negotiate for better Medicare drug prices from the drug companies, according to a report today by Robert Pear in the New York Times. Read more... Senior Citizen Politics Medicare is Target for Change by Democrats and Republicans in Weeks Ahead Republicans may revoke physician pay cut, Democrats HMO subsidy November 10, 2006 – A flurry of activity impacting Medicare is expected in the remaining days of the lame duck Republican Congress and the early days of the new Democratic Congress. A major battle is already shaping up over a powerful Democrat’s proposal that Medicare stop subsidy payments to HMOs. The pay cut for physicians in 2007 that Medicare has declared looks likely to face a move by Republicans to eliminate the cut or modify it, which may have Democratic support. Read more... Who Will Lead Congress - SENIOR CITIZENS! November 9, 2006 – Senior citizens will take over the House and Senate leadership from the youngsters, as a result of Tuesday’s Congressional election wins by the Democrats. Senator Harry Reid, 66, will replace Senator Bill Frist, 54, as Senate Majority Leader, while Nancy Pelosi, 66, will replace soon to be senior Dennis Hastert, 64, as Speaker of the House. Baby Boomer President Bush is 60. Senior Citizens Certain to See Lower Priced Drugs with Democrat Wins Other than Iraq War, senior issues may have been most important to voters By Tucker Sutherland, editor November 8, 2006 – The results from yesterday's election showing Democrats gaining control of the House of Representatives and close to control of the Senate signals major changes ahead that directly impact senior citizens. First, the price of prescription drugs is going to go down. And this was the final nail in the coffin that contains the private accounts proposed by President Bush for Social Security. "Tonight we have made history; now let us make progress," said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, who is now destined to be the first female Speaker of the House and most powerful woman in the history of the U.S. government. Read more... World War II Generation May Tell Bush to Let Democrats Handle the Iraq War Seniors were first to back the President but seem to have had enough By Tucker Sutherland, editor November 6, 2006 – I remember lying in my bed at night, searching the darkness outside my window for any sign of movement that could be an invading German soldier or spy. I knew just how long it would take me to get to my .22 rifle in the closet and had thought out the best defensive positions around my house from where to fire. It was World War II and my mother and I lived in a small Texas town not too far from the Gulf coast and the Texas border – proximities that flamed my fear that Nazis may show up any day. My Dad, my uncles and even one aunt – a Marine - were away defending our country. Read more... Those 61 and older more negative than baby boomers October 30, 2006 – Senior citizens may not be as favorably impressed with Medicare's prescription drug program as many have assumed. A new poll by AARP shows only 46% of Americans age 61 and older think Medicare’s prescription drug plan will be a good thing for older Americans who have difficulty paying for their prescriptions. Interestingly, these older people are less likely than baby boomers, not yet eligible to participate, to give it a favorable rating. Read more... Medicare Drug Program News Democrats Say New Medicare Handbook is Misleading on Drug Program Democrats also release study showing benefits to senior citizens of their proposals October 27, 2006 – The Medicare drug program has been increasingly an issue as the Congressional elections near. The latest is a controversy over the new Medicare handbook, which Democrats say promotes the cost savings of Medicare Advantage plans compared with traditional Medicare, but fails to inform senior citizens that the plans can require higher out-of-pocket costs. They also claim in has misleading information on the ability of plans to change the drugs they cover. The Democrats also released a study showing their recommendations for the drug program will save seniors $500 annually and eliminate the "donut hole" coverage gap. Read more... Senior Citizen Opinions & Analysis Privatizing Medicare: The Train has Already Left the Station By The Center for Medicare Advocacy October 25, 2006 - While the country debates the merits and concerns about Social Security privatization, Medicare has been morphed into a set of private plans with little attention or discussion. The private Medicare train is already out of the station. Read more... Medicare Drug Program News Pharmaceuticals Pour Millions into GOP Races to Avoid Negotiating Prices with Medicare Democrats promising negotiated drug prices in Medicare like VA October 25, 2006 – It is not talked about much in the Congressional campaigns but an issue that is having a major impact on the cash contributions in key races is the question of allowing Medicare to negotiate better prices on drugs with the pharmaceutical companies, as is done by the Veterans Administration. Read more... Senior Citizen Politics Congressional Candidates Not Supporting Social Security Private Accounts AARP says in 45 Congressional races most candidates oppose idea October 24, 2006 – President Bush's plan for private accounts as part of the Social Security program is a dead issue, if a recent survey of 45 heated Congressional races is an indicator. It found only one candidate out of 20 in 10 of the closest Senate races indicated support. It was even worse in 35 of the top House races where only two candidates voiced support for private accounts. An earlier election poll by AARP found 72 percent of older American voters also oppose the idea. Read more... Medicare Drug Program News Senior Citizens Pay More for Drugs Because Congress Refuses to Allow Medicare to Negotiate Like VA Consumer Union finds seniors in donut hole can do better shopping around for best price October 12, 2006 – Consumers Union released a report this week highlighting a study that found senior citizens who have fallen into the Medicare Part D "donut hole" can get better prices shopping around than through their Medicare drug plan. The headline was "Floridians in Medicare Donut Hole Can Get Better Drug Prices." What the headline should have been, however, is "All Senior Citizens Paying Big Drug Price Because Medicare Does Not Negotiate Prices Like Veterans Administration." Read more... Senior Citizen Politics Senior Citizen Issues Getting Top Billing in Democratic Campaigns AARP wants lower drug prices, Canada drug imports, Social Security reform October 10, 2006 – The "hot" issues in this November election appear to include several that are critical to senior citizens. A review of campaign activities by KaiserNet.org finds Democrats pushing for lower drug prices in Medicare through direct price negotiations with pharmaceutical companies, funding for stem cell research and greater access to healthcare. AARP says it wants lower drug prices through pressure on drug companies, legal reimportation of drugs from Canada and a bipartisan commission to study Social Security reform. Read more... Social Security Private Accounts Not Likely to be Supported in this Election AARP survey finds strong opposition among those 42 and older October 4, 2006 – One thing voters will not be hearing about this election are the Social Security private investment accounts that were so strongly promoted by President Bush and supported by Republicans in Congress. That boat has sunk. Initially, the idea was interesting to many younger voters but the most recent polls show 71 percent of Americans age 42 and older - the most likely voters - now oppose the idea. Read more... Medicare Drug Plan Doughnut Hole Becoming Election Issue in Florida Race October 2, 2006 – With Congressional elections just weeks away, the Medicare prescription drug program is emerging as an issue, at least in some areas. The complaints so far are focused on the infamous "doughnut hole," where coverage stops but monthly premiums do not. Attention, so far, is focused on a congressional district in Florida, where about 25 percent of the voters are senior citizens, according to KaiserNet.org. Read more... Older Americans Act Expected to Be Renewed Before Congressional Recess Medicare's pay cut for doctors expected to get reversed later September 29, 2006 – With Congress rushing to their election break, action was taken on several pieces of legislation that effect senior citizens, including renewal of the Older Americans Act, which passed the House and is expected to clear the Senate before the recess. The most attention has been on the battle between the American Medical Association and Medicare over doctors' pay from the program in 2007. A key House leader says the 5.1% pay reduction by Medicare is likely to be reversed by Congress before the end of the year. Read more... Senior Citizen & Baby Boomer Politics Boomers, Seniors Ready to Vote and High Drug Prices an Issue says AARP Survey Senior drug prices climbing at 6.3% a year, generics basically flat September 19, 2006 – A survey of senior citizens and baby boomers (age 42 and over) has found 74 percent saying the price of drugs will be a "voting issue" in the up-coming elections. It also found 60 percent of those 60 and over saying they always vote. This voter survey was released yesterday by AARP, as it also released the latest survey of drug prices showing the most commonly used medications for older adults rose an average of 6.3 percent in the 12 months ending with June. Read more... Don't Vote Campaign, Voter Information Site Launched by AARP September 19, 2006 - As part of an ongoing voter education campaign, AARP today unveiled its "Don't Vote" initiative, which tells voters "Don't vote . . . until you know where the candidates stand on the issues." The campaign has its own Website where voters can select their respective state and receive information on state and national races, find their district, and register to vote. Read more... Clerk's Documents Show Law Changing Medicaid Transfer Rules Never Passed House By ElderLawAnswers.com September 19, 2006 - The Clerk of the U.S House of Representatives has added fuel to the fire over the passage of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA). The new revelations could end up burning the new law, which places severe new restrictions on the ability of the elderly to transfer assets before qualifying for Medicaid coverage of nursing home care. Read more... Senior Citizen League Petitions to Stop Higher Medicare Premiums Based on Income Petition to Congress opposes means testing, supports repeal law September 11, 2006 - For the first time since Medicare's creation 41 years ago, seniors will no longer pay the same amount for the same services. Premium rates for Part B – which covers doctors' visits, tests, and outpatient care – will now be determined based on income, or "means testing". As a result, as many as 2.3 million seniors will have to pay dramatically more for a benefit intended to help protect the hard-earned assets of these older Americans, says the TREA Senior League. Read more... Opinion: Medicare Means Testing a Costly Slip Senior citizen group supports House bill to repeal higher Medicare premiums based on income By Ralph McCutchen September 11, 2006 - For the first time since Medicare's creation 41 years ago, seniors will no longer pay the same amount for the same services. Premium rates for Part B - expected to be announced later this month by the Department of Health and Human Services for 2007 - now will be means tested, that is, determined based on income. Read more... Also see more about this issue in the Medicare News section. Study of Nursing Home Disasters in Last Year's Hurricanes Recommends Changes Senate Select Committee on Aging holding hearings seeking ways to make improvements August 18, 2006 – The highly publicized problems that occurred with the protection and evacuation of senior citizens from nursing homes during last year's hurricanes along the Gulf Coast prompted the Senate Select Committee on Aging to hold two hearings seeking ways to make improvements. Yesterday, the Inspector General of Health and Human Services issued a report – requested by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), ranking Democrat on the Senate committee – providing more details on what happened and recommending actions to do better this year. Read more... GM Chairman Wants Full Disclosure of Medicare Claims Database Wagoner tells Senate Aging Committee healthcare needs to be more affordable, accessible and accountable July 14, 2006 – The chairman of General Motors yesterday called on the Bush Administration to release the complete Medicare Claims Database. Richard Wagoner, GM's Chairman and CEO, presented testimony to the Senate Special Committee on Aging, where he also said Congress and other public and private-sector stakeholders must work together "to make health care more affordable, accessible, and accountable on a comprehensive, national basis." Read more... Pennsylvania Senior Citizens Get Cheaper Medicine and Taxes by New Bills Governor says they will pay less than seniors in any other state July 9, 2006 – Senior citizens in Pennsylvania may pay less for their medicine than seniors in any other state – and maybe less in taxes, if the promises in two bills recently signed by Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D) live up to their expectations. Friday, Rendell signed the PACE Plus program to lower the cost of medicine and in late June he signed a bill expected to completely eliminate property taxes for hundreds-of-thousands of seniors. Read more... Senior Citizens Drop Bush Approval More than Others Since 2004 Older Americans join others in giving Bush all-time low approval June 6, 2006 – The public's approval of President George W. Bush hit an all time low in the latest research by the Pew Research Center – 33%. Although the analysis by Pew highlights the big drop in approval by moderate Republicans, it is senior citizens that lead all age groups in lowering the approval rating since the 2004 election. Then, seniors were the strongest backers of the President (53%) but today they agree with all adults and give Bush an approval rating of 33%. Read more... Senior Citizen Politics Senior Citizens Want Government Focus on Iraq and Immigration Younger Americans more likely to say fuel prices are top priority June 5, 2006 – As President Bush guides the Congress to turn their attention this week to a possible constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, senior citizens strongly want the focus to be on the war in Iraq and immigration. These are top issues for all American adults in a new Gallup Panel Poll but senior citizens put immigration next in line behind the war, while young adults place immigration behind fuel prices. Read more... Senior Citizen Approval of Bush Same as All Adults but Has Dropped Less Seniors back in January '05 had lower opinion to begin with May 26, 2006 – A Gallup Poll released today shows that the approval rating for President Bush by senior citizens has not dropped as much as most other adults, but it is because the seniors had a lower rating for the President in the first place. The current approval rating by seniors is 33 percent, the same as the average for American adults of all ages. Read more... Aging Committee Tries Again at Learning How to Protect Seniors in Disasters Homeland Security official outlines major issues faced after Katrina May 19, 2006 – Yesterday, the Senate Special Committee on Aging held it's second hearing pertaining to questions of safety for senior citizens during natural disasters, like Hurricane Katrina. The committee heard from five witnesses, including Dan Sutherland of Homeland Security, who discussed the major problems for older Americans hit by Katrina. Read more... House Ignores Bush Medicare, Medicaid Cuts in Passing Budget Resolution May 18, 2006 – Completing a complete turn around, the House of Representatives this morning approved the 2007 budget resolution without proposals by President Bush to reduce spending for Medicare, Medicaid and other entitlement programs. Bush, who recommended cuts of $36 billion for Medicare, said in April he will veto any bill that does not include these cuts. Read more... Aging Committee Considers Better Care for Senior Citizens in Emergencies May 17, 2006 - A hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 18, by the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging to hear witnesses and consider improvements in caring for senior citizens during national emergencies. Read more... Concord Coalition Urges Serious Solutions to Medicare, Social Security Latest trustees' report confirms 'fiscally unsustainable track' May 1, 2006 - With today's release of the annual Social Security and Medicare trustees' reports showing a combined long-term unfunded obligation of $15.6 trillion over 75 years in these two entitlement programs, The Concord Coalition warned that the two programs are on a fiscally unsustainable track and urged lawmakers to respond with serious solutions rather than free lunch plans or "do nothing" promises. Read more... Senior Citizens Most Dominant in 'Populist" Political Camp Pew Research Center looks at American political ideology April 13, 2006 – A survey by the Pew Research Center finds "many Americans simply do not fit well within either the conservative or the liberal ideological camps, instead falling into one of the two other important U.S. political traditions - libertarian and populist." Senior citizens, they found, were more dominant in the populist camp than those of liberals, conservatives, libertarians or ambivalents. Read more... Bush Threatens Veto if His Cost Cuts Not in Budget Resolution Medicare, Medicaid reductions by Bush likely big stumbling block April 10, 2006 – President George W. Bush, who has never used his veto power, said Friday he will veto the fiscal year 2007 budget resolution from Congress if it does not include cuts he has recommended in his budget. Presumably, this includes the large cuts in Medicare and Medicaid recommended by the President but ignored, so far, in the budget resolutions in both houses of Congress. Read more... Medicare, Medicaid Cuts Proposed by Bush Look Lifeless in Congress House members squabble over their votes on budget resolution March 31, 2006 – Chances of Congress approving the cuts to Medicare and Medicaid recommended by President Bush in his budget proposal are now looking as dead as his proposal to add personal investment accounts to Social Security. The latest blow came in the budget resolution passed by the House Budget Committee, which did not include these cuts. The Senate earlier ignored them. House members began discussions yesterday on the vote on the resolution by the House, which moderates wanting a larger cap to be sure there are not more cuts to health care spending, according to KaiserNet.org. Read more... House Budget Plan Ignores Bush Cuts to Medicare but Hits Veterans Health Care March 30, 2006 – The budget cuts proposed by President Bush to Medicare and Medicaid did not make it through the House Budget Committee, which approved a $2.8 billion plan last night by a 22-17 vote - down party lines - of the Republican dominated, conservative-leaning committee. The bill goes to the full House next week. Read more... Deficit Reduction Act Cutting Medicare, Medicaid is Invalid says Public Citizen Suit Version signed by Bush and passed by Senate is different from House version March 22, 2006 - The consumer watchdog group Public Citizen has filed suit in federal court yesterday charging that the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 signed by President Bush on February 8 is invalid because the president signed a version of the bill that was passed by the U.S. Senate but not the U.S. House of Representatives. The law decreases student loan, Medicare and Medicaid spending, extends welfare cuts and cuts federal funding of state child-support enforcement programs. Read more... Aging Agency Prepares for Older American Act Reauthorization Proposing technical changes and new 'Choices for Independence' March 19, 2006 – Representatives from the Administration on Aging will be meeting today at the 2006 Joint Conference of the National Council on Aging and the American Society of Aging to discuss changes they are proposing in the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act, including a proposal called "Choices for Independence," which is a $28 million demonstration project. AoA says it builds on the mission and success of the Act and aims to strengthen and modernize its role in promoting consumer choice, control, and independence in long-term care. Read more... Senior Citizens May Have Sunk Bush Approval Rating Seniors must likely to oppose foreign ownership, investment in U.S. March 16, 2006 - In the aftermath of the Dubai ports deal, President Bush's approval rating has hit a new low and his image for honesty and effectiveness has been damaged. Interestingly, senior citizens may have a lot to do with the decline in Bush's ratings, since they are the age group most opposed to foreign ownership and investment in the U.S., according to a new Pew Poll. Read more... Senate Aging Chair Wants Tax Incentives for Long-Term Care Savings March 15, 2006 – At a hearing last week on the preparedness of Americans for long-term care financing, held by the Senate's Special Committee on Aging, Chairman Gordon H. Smith (R-Oregon) pledged to introduce legislation offering tax incentives for those who invest in long-term care savings. Read more... Secretive Senate Aging Committee Plans Hearing on Women's Retirement Income By Tucker Sutherland, editor March 14, 2006 – In the first four years of President George W. Bush's administration, senior citizen issues were well aired by the Senate's Special Committee on Aging, but this took a drastic turn for the worse in the second administration, when the chairmanship of the committee changed. Since Sen. Gordon H. Smith (R- Oregon) took charge, the hearings have been rare and little publicized. A once highly active a committee that sought out solutions to meaningful challenges facing America's senior citizen has become a dim echo lost in the sea of relevant discussion from other sources. Read more... Voters Say Bush Can't Improve Healthcare, Independents Turning to Sen. Clinton March 14, 2006 - A new Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Health-Care Poll released today shows U.S. adults in general show lackluster confidence and trust in the president when it comes to improving the healthcare system. More independent voters say they have confidence in Sen. Hillary Clinton. Read more... Bush Medicare Cuts Getting Cold Shoulder in Senate and House Conservative House Study Committee, however, recommends even more cuts March 9, 2006 – Republican enthusiasm for cutting Medicare is waning rapidly. The Senate Budget Committee is holding a mark-up session today on their 2007 budget resolution, which ignores President Bush's proposed cuts in Medicare and other entitlement programs. It is just as hot in the House, where 60 moderate Republican members sent a letter to House Budget Committee Chair Jim Nussle saying they oppose the Bush cuts to Medicare. There is another side, however, with the conservative House Republican Study Committee proposing even more cuts that Bush recommended, according to KaiserNet.org. Read more... Senate May Not Consider Bush Medicare Budget Cuts Finance chair says there are not enough votes to pass them March 8, 2006 – The conflicting signals from Washington about cuts in Medicare continued today with a report that Senate Budget Committee Chair Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) says he will not include the cuts recommended by President Bush in his committee's budget bill. He says there are not enough votes to pass them, according to KaiserNet.org's Capitol Hill Watch. Read more... Report of Massive Deficit in Bush Budget Sets Off New Alarms for Medicare Senate, House budget leaders say they are ready to cut entitlements more March 6, 2006 – An analysis by the Congressional Budget Office says the 2007 budget proposed by President Bush will increase the federal deficit by $35 billion this year and $1.2 trillion over ten years. This has raised new alarm that entitlement programs, like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, may be in for additional reductions by the Congress – in particular the House - as they consider the budget. The CBO reports shows the Bush proposal already includes five year reductions for Medicare of $37 billion and all entitlement programs by $56 billion, according to KaiserNet.org. Read more... Sen. Frist Proposes Six Reforms for Medicare to Begin Entitlement Control Medicare pinpointed as bigger economic threat that Social Security Feb. 28, 2006 – Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) said yesterday that the "demographic aging revolution dictates that the spending path we’re on is unsustainable" because of the cost to maintain Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. He said the place to begin cutting back is with Medicare. "Whereas Social Security will go bankrupt in 2040, the Medicare Trust Fund will go bust 20 years earlier…in 2020" he said. He proposed six "fundamental reforms" for Medicare in this speech to the Detroit Economic Club. Read more... Fifty-One Centenarians Vote in South Texas Election; So Records Show Population estimates indicate Webb County should have only 19 over 100 Feb. 28, 2006 – Fifty-one centenarians - senior citizens that have made it to age 100 - have already voted in the first week of early voting in Webb County. Joining the centenarians at the polls were 93 seniors over age 90. At least that is what an attorney for a congressional candidate claims has happened in this district that stretches the length of South Texas from San Antonio to Mexico. Read more... Concern Expressed about Bush Cost Hikes in Veterans Health Care Air Force Association sees an adverse impact on nation's veterans, retirees Feb. 22, 2006 - The Air Force Association (AFA) today expressed concern about certain provisions in the President's Fiscal Year 2007 budget, which they say could have an adverse impact on our nation's veterans and retirees and their families. The Bush administration's budget would significantly increase fees and co-pays for certain groups of individuals in both the TRICARE and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care systems. Read more... Suit Says Bill Signed by Bush Cutting Medicaid Not the One Passed by House Elder Law Attorney Sues over New 'Law' Affecting Medicaid Transfers Feb. 20, 2006 - An Alabama elder law attorney has filed suit in federal district court challenging the constitutionality of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA), which President Bush signed February 8, on the grounds that the bill signed was not the same bill that the House of Representatives passed. The Constitution requires that a bill must pass both houses of Congress and be signed by the President in identical forms to become law. Read more... Senior Citizens Not as Likely as Most to be Leaning to Democrats New Pew Survey says President Bush is drag on his party's prospects Feb. 13, 2006 - President Bush's unpopularity has become a drag on his party's prospects in the fall but senior citizens age 65 and older are not as likely to be leaning Democratic as is the average American voter, according to the latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Feb. 1-5 among 1,502 adults. Expand that age bracket to include baby boomers (50+), however, and a majority of both older men and women are leaning toward the Democrats. Read more... Defense of Medicare Budget Cuts Takes Spotlight in Washington Administration officials faced angry Congressmen from both parties Feb.8, 2006 – Today President Bush defended his proposed $36 billion reduction for Medicare spending in his budget proposal for FY 2007 and prepared to sign legislation already passed that cuts another $39 billion from Medicare and Medicaid. Yesterday, members of his administration were busy defending the $2.77 trillion budget and the Medicare cuts. They also were facing questions about the budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to a report by KaiserNet.org. Read more... Medicare Budget Cuts May Not be Welcomed in Congress KaiserNet.org provides more detail on specific proposals, reactions Feb. 7, 2006 – Although the President's budget for 2007 that was released yesterday has cuts of $36 billion for Medicare ($105 billion over 10 years), reportedly the biggest in the budget, many are predicting it will be a hard sell to Congress after they, too, took big hacks at the program at the first of the month. KaiserNet.org examines the media and political reactions, and provides details on what Bush has proposed in a number of health care programs. Read more... Social Security Investment Accounts, Indexing in Bush Budget Reform ideas that never caught on in 2006 are back in the 2007 budget Feb. 6, 2006 – There were so many things grabbing the public's and media's attention in the $2.77 trillion federal budget for FY 2007 presented yesterday, that many senior citizens may have missed that the President has put private investment accounts and the indexing of benefits (determining payments by need) for Social Security back on the table and in the budget. Read more... Bush 2007 Budget Cuts $36 Billion from Medicare, $12 Billion from Medicaid Feb. 6, 2006 – President Bush today released his budget proposal for 2007, which includes proposals to "save an estimated $36 billion over five years in Medicare." The statement on Medicare and Medicaid says, "The key to preserving the promise of Medicare for America's seniors and disabled is to enhance the long-term fiscal solvency of the program." The cuts proposed for Medicaid reduce costs by $12 billion. Major new expenditures in Health Care are aimed at fighting the flu pandemic. Read more... More Cuts in Medicare Coming Monday in Bush 2007 Budget New York Times reporting Bush will target spending linked to aging population Feb. 5, 2006 – Senior citizens, still reeling from billions of dollars cut from Medicare and Medicaid by the Congress last week, are in for more bad news this week. The New York Times has published articles about the 2007 budget to be proposed by President Bush tomorrow and says there are more big cuts to Medicare ahead, including a provision that increases "premiums for high-income people, beyond those already scheduled to take effect next year." Read more... Boomers May Lose Their Inheritance Due to New Budget Bill Thirty states now have laws, too, saying you are responsible for your parents - half with criminal penalties By Tucker Sutherland, editor Feb. 3, 2006 – Baby Boomers probably paid little attention to the final passage of the budget reduction bill on Wednesday – it reduces federal spending over the next 10 years by $99.3 billion with half of this coming out of Medicare and Medicaid. Middle aged Americans don't identify much with these social programs for the poor and the elderly. They may be in for a surprise, however, as the feds, and even the states, are moving to force the financial support for these aging parents back on their children. Read more... Bush Says He Will Fix Medicare Drug Program President wants bipartisan solution to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security Feb. 2, 2006 – President Bush, speaking in Nashville yesterday, followed up with some details concerning healthcare that were not covered in the State of the Union. He said he will address the problems in the Medicare prescription drug program and called for a bipartisan solution to the financial problem of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, according to the Daily Health Policy Report by KaiserNet.org. Read more... House Passes Budget Bill with Biggest Cuts in Medicaid, Medicare Cuts $99.3 billion over 10 years - 27% from Medicaid, 23% from Medicare. Feb. 1, 2006 – It's done. The House has passed and sent to President Bush the budget reconciliation bill that was strongly opposed by most senior citizen advocacy groups and newspaper editorials due to the deep cuts it makes in Medicaid and Medicare. It was a very close vote – 216 to 214. The bill cuts the budget by $38.8 billion over five years – 50 percent of the cuts over 10 years are in Medicaid and Medicare. Read more... Social Security Reform Has Withered but Program Still Needs Help Author Nancy Altman says the problem is not that hard to solve Feb. 1, 2005 – Social Security Reform, a buzz phrase for the last few years, seems to have come and gone on the agenda of President George W. Bush, as indicated by the lack of support in his State of the Union last night. There is, however, a financial problem for the program somewhere out there in the future. Nancy J. Altman, an author and former assistant to Alan Greenspan, says in the following opinion piece that the program is still vital and financial security is not that difficult to achieve. Click to read her opinion... Senior Citizen Programs Get Virtually No Attention in State of the Union Bush wants commission to study boomer impact on senior programs Jan. 31, 2006 - There was little expectation that President Bush would propose many specific proposals to enhance the senior citizen programs of Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid - those expectations were understated. What seniors got on these programs was a brief mention, late in the speech, that lasted for two paragraphs proposing "a commission to examine the full impact of baby boom retirements on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid." That was it! Read more, including text of State of the Union... Veterans May Be Asked to Pay More for Health Care Jan. 31, 2006 – Veterans are being alerted to possible increases in the fees they pay for government health care programs. Veterans may see increased co-pays for drugs and higher enrollment fees for the drug program and TRICARE, the military health care program, in the 2007 budget. This is reported in today's Daily Health Policy Report by KaiserNet.org, which also reports that President Bush has taken action to designate $1.2 billion for veteran health care as emergency funds, which assures its availability. Read more... State of Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid Not High on President's or Public's Agenda State of Union address at 9 p.m. EST expected to have little on "senior issues" Jan. 31, 2006 – Senior citizens concerned about the future of Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid will probably not hear much encouraging news from President Bush, when he steps before the television cameras at 9:01 EST tonight for his State of the Union. Health care cost is expected to get attention, but the proposals are to be more about the health savings plans Bush introduced in 2003 that have not, yet, caught on. Seniors are not eligible for these tax deductible health insurance plans. Read more... Final House Vote on Budget Bill Could Cut Billions from Senior Programs Passage expected Wednesday to cut Medicare, Medicaid Jan. 30, 2006 – The Budget Reconciliation Bill, which many see as making drastic cuts in government programs for senior citizens – Medicaid and Medicare, is expected to hit the House floor on Wednesday for a final vote, the day after the President's State of the Union address. As reported today by the Capitol Hill Watch at KaiserNet.org, the bill will reduce federal spending by $99.3 billion over 10 years, with half of that coming from these senior programs. The Congressional Budget Office analysis says premiums for Medicaid beneficiaries in the bill could cause 110,000 to lose coverage by 2015. Read more... Two-Thirds Rate State of the Country as Poor but Seniors Most Positive According to new Harris Poll majorities believe war in Iraq not going well and damaging the president Jan. 27, 2006 – Less than a third (32%) of U.S. adults believe the state of the country is "good," while 68 percent believe it is "poor." But, this Harris Poll proceeding the President's State of the Union address, shows once again, that senior citizens are not as negative about most things as are younger adults. On almost all issues dealing with military conflict, the economy and social actions the seniors are the most positive. Exceptions are, interestingly, the government's efforts to rebuild after Katrina and the efforts to make taxes more fair, where boomers and seniors are the most negative. Read more... Senate Budget Chair Calls for More Cuts in Medicare Republicans to recycle old failed issues in 2006 Jan. 26, 2006 – The Republican chairman of the Senate Budget Committee is calling for more cuts in health care programs in fiscal 2007, which includes Medicare, according to The Daily Health Policy Report by KaiserNetwork.org, which cites CQ Today. The daily news summary says Republicans will also be targeting health care proposals this year, but most are proposals that have failed in the past. Read more... Homecare Industry Rallying Support to Kill Reconciliation Act Senate bill going back to House for final vote freezes pay rate at 2005 level Jan. 22, 2006 – Among the most active in fighting to kill the Budget Reconciliation Act is the American Association for Homecare, the industry group for home health care providers and those who use this service. Despite home health care being a popular option with senior citizens and studies showing it can be the least costly way to care for the elderly, the bill has several provisions that negatively impact the service. The most critical is a freeze on their pay rate for services from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Read more... Television Campaign to Stop Health Care Cuts for Seniors Launched by AFSCME Rep. Nussle targeted in effort to defeat GOP budget cuts in February 1 House vote Jan. 19, 2006 – A new television campaign aimed at persuading "moderate GOP members" of Congress to oppose cuts in the budget reconciliation bill that would "gut health care for seniors," has been launched by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and the Emergency Campaign for America's Priorities (ECAP). Read more... Vote on Budget Set for Feb. 1; Senior Groups Seek to Sway GOP Moderates Major cuts in senior citizen programs on the line in vote Jan. 16, 2006 - House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) has tentatively scheduled a re-vote on the 2006 budget reconciliation bill (S 1932) for February 1, the day after the House reconvenes following its winter recess. Moderate Republicans are feeling mounting pressure from groups like AARP to change their votes. Read more... Our Opinion AARP Controversy with Newspaper Emphasizes Its Conflicts The Hill says AARP is softening on imported drugs, favoring Medicare drug plans like they help sell By Tucker Sutherland, editor Jan. 5, 2006 – Has AARP softened its support for imported drugs, because they find drugs are cheaper from the Medicare drug program than from Canada? The Hill, a newspaper "for and about the U.S. Congress," says they have, but AARP has fired back saying The Hill story is a "blatant mischaracterization of AARP's position." It's hard, however, not to question AARP's position when they are one of the major brokers of Medicare insurance programs. Read more... |
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More
Political News (PoliticalWire)
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Democratic
lawmakers 'aiming to change elements' of Medicare prescription drug
benefit, such as the so-called "doughnut hole" coverage gap
Dec. 4, 2008 - AARP, already being investigated by
the Senate Finance Committee, and exposed by the New York Times for its
massive selling of its endorsement to commercial companies, was hit
again today. The latest is an article on Bloomberg.com, that lays bare
the story of how the organization collects hundreds of millions of
dollars annually from insurance companies who pay for AARP’s endorsement
of their policies.
After a year of preparation by panel, Senator’s “Call
to Action” details policy options, goals for reform; draws backing of
Center for Medicare Advocacy
Pew Research finds seniors saying they are Democrats
has declined since 2004
Sept.
12, 2008 – A bill to protect nursing home residents from losing the
right to hold long-term care facilities accountable in court for
negligent and abusive care was approved yesterday by the Senate
Judiciary Committee. The bi-partisan bill - the Fairness in Nursing Home
Arbitration Act of 2008 - is sponsored by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Sen.
Mel Martinez (R-FL).
July 15, 2008 – Physicians that treat Medicare
patients may have won the battle but the war is far from over, when it
comes to fighting off legislation at will reduce the pay they receive
from the government’s health insurance plan for senior citizens.
Congress, after a long battle, okayed legislation last week to stop a
ten percent pay cut for this year but even larger cuts are looming in
years to come, which some see as a hindrance to seniors in finding
medical care.
WASHINGTON
(AP) — Republican presidential candidate John McCain skipped a
difficult Senate vote Wednesday on whether to make 20 million
seniors and 250,000 disabled veterans eligible for rebate checks
as part of a proposed economic stimulus package.
