PA Action

Minimum Wage

2007-01-08T17:52:00.000-05:00

Click on that image above and you go to a cool interactive map that let's see see the state of the minimum wage across the country. That and all the facts you'll need to convince any doubters that raising the minimum wage is an economic imperative (see below) courtesy of the Center for American Progress.

Raising the federal minimum wage is a crucial part of the Change America Now (CAN) agenda and the Democrats' 100-Hour Agenda currently being introduced in the House. Click here to see how the CAN campaign makes it easy for you to contact your member of Congress to voice your support for more increased minimum wage, affordable student loans, investment in clean energy and a sane Medicare Part D. Be sure to take a minute to let your voice be heard on Capitol Hill.

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Since 1997, the federal minimum wage has been stuck at $5.15. The new Congress plans to introduce legislation raising the minimum wage to $7.25—an increase that is long overdue.

This minimum wage increase would boost earnings for 13 million American workers—9.8 percent of the United States workforce.^1*

Twelve million adult wage-earners, 80 percent of the minimum wage-earning population, will directly benefit from a minimum wage increase.
Seven million families with children—46 percent of the total low wage-earning families with children—currently receive all of their earnings from minimum wage jobs.
Nine million women (59 percent of minimum wage earners) and six million people of color (40 percent of minimum wage earners) will directly benefit from a minimum wage increase.
Raising the minimum wage will increase annual earnings to $15,000 from $10,700. Without this increase, a family of three supported by one minimum wage earner will live roughly $5,400 below the federal poverty line.
At the 350 largest public companies, the average CEO total direct compensation was $11.6 million in 2005. At this rate of compensation, it takes the average CEO only one hour and 55 minutes to earn the annual pay of a minimum wage worker.²

The minimum wage increase will not harm our economy.

The minimum wage increase will not cause price inflation. In Arizona, for example, the total cost of the wage increases is equal to 0.08 percent of total sales. The average business can fully cover the cost of the minimum wage by increasing revenue by less than 0.1 percent.³
The minimum wage increase will not destroy job growth. Between 1997 and 2003, small business employment increased by 9.4 percent in higher minimum wage states, compared to 6.6 percent in states at the federal level.⁴
The minimum wage increase will not shut down small businesses. Between 1998 and 2003, the number of small businesses increased by 5.5 percent in higher minimum wage states, compared to 4.2 percent in states at the federal minimum wage level.⁵

Raising the minimum wage is a progressive issue that resonates with the American public and bridges the partisan divide.

A 2006 opinion poll found that 83 percent of Americans support an increase in the federal minimum wage.⁶
A decade of federal inaction has prompted 29 states (including D.C.) to raise the minimum wage above $5.15.
The minimum wage is an opportunity for bipartisanship. In 2006, the governors and state legislatures of California, Michigan, and Pennsylvania worked across party lines to raise the minimum wage.
In 2006, the minimum wage ballot initiatives had a “6-0” winning record in six states that voted for George Bush in 2000 and 2004. The minimum wage presents an issue that can unite, rather than divide, America.

Related Research

Endnotes

1. Economic Policy Institute, Minimum Wage Issue Guide, Jan. 2007

* These figures were updated 1/8/06

2. Annual calculation assumes a 40-hour work week and 52 weeks of work (2080 hours per year). Center for American Progress, “The Gap Between CEOs and America’s Middle Class Widened in 2005,” April 13, 2006

3. Center for American Progress, Economic Analysis of the Arizona Minimum Wage Proposal, Oct. 30, 2006

4. Center for American Progress, Good for Business, May 2006

5. Ibid.

6. Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, Maximum Support for Raising the Minimum, April 19, 2006

Thank You!

2006-11-13T14:11:00.000-05:00

A big thank you to everyone who helped educate unmarried women in Bucks, Delaware and Chester Counties about the inportance of making their voices heard at the polls this year.

Over the last several weeks, PA Action sent nearly eighty thousand pieces of mail, made almost sixty thousand calls and knocked on over six thousand doors to get the message about Congress' Upside Down Priorities to women voters in three important counties.

The atmosphere at the PA Action office in Bristol was one of commitment and dedication to reaching as many voters as possible in the busy weeks leading up to the election. On the phones and at the doors we came across more than a few voters, who were tired of being bombarded with partisan messages but who responded well to our non-partisan message of "Just Get Out and Vote." And, thanks in large part to our work, many thousands of voters did get out to vote on the important issues of clean energy, affordable health care, accessible education, war and peace.

Every accomplisment would have been impossible without the help of energized staff and volunteers on the phones and the doors from the middle of October all the way up until half an hour before the polls closed on the 7th. For an excellent look at the work we did, be sure to watch this FOX 29 piece called "Reaching Out to Non-Voters."

PA Action will continue to spread a message of economic justice, peace and prosperity in the months and years ahead. If you're in the neighborhood, please come to the first post-election organizational meeting, which will be held on Tuesday, November 14 at 7:00pm at PA Action's office at 1631 Edgely Road in Levittown. Bring your ideas and your energy. Be part of a revolution just begun.

Calling Bucks, Chester and Delaware County Voters with Pop Vox

2006-10-26T11:09:00.000-04:00

PA Action, in conjunction with Women's Voices Women's Votes and US Action, is working a non-partisan campaign on the phones and on the ground to turnout likely progressive female voters this election.

As Matt said at MyDD:

Right-wingers have two giant fears. The first is if evangelicals stop voting, as they
did from the 1920s until the late 1970s. The second is if single women
start voting.

That second part is our plan and you can help from the comfort and convenience of your home. We need 375 people to make two hours of calls. Calling has been averaging at about 80 calls per hour. If we can get 375 people to make two hours of calls through Pop Vox, that will free up 750 hours for our volunteers on the ground to make the important face-to-face contacts
that are also part of the field plan.

Trust me, the two hours go by more quickly than you may imagine. You don't have to do them in a row, although we would prefer it. The script is short and direct. The focus voters are people we need to get to the polls if we want to see some change in the direction this country.

Thanks very much for spending a couple of hours helping to get this country back on track.

Here's what you do:

1. Please remember that this calling is non-partisan.

We aren't encouraging anyone to vote for any candidate in particular.
Please don't mention any candidate's or incumbent's name. We are
working on turning out women who are likely progressive voters.

2. Go to PA Action's page at Pop Vox.

3. Register

Please enter an email address. You will receive a confirmation of registration at your email address but you don't need to do anything with it to makecalls.

Also, please agree to be recorded. It's for quality control purposes. The voter's portion of the call is not recorded.

4. Login

After you register, you will be able to login with all the information you entered at the
registration screen.

5. When you are ready to make calls, click on the Make Calls Now link.

6. Select a campaign. You can choose among Bucks, Chester and Delaware Counties.

7. Click MAKE CALLS

8. Enter the phone number you are calling from. Do not include any spaces between the digits.

The system will call you back at that number. From the time you answer, you don't need to dial or hang up the phone again. The Pop Vox program will automatically hang up and redial. If you hang up, you will be disconnected and have to sign in all over again.

9. Your phone will ring. When you answer it, you'll hear music until you click Ready for Call.
Then Pop Vox will look for a voter for you to talk to. A gray wheel will spin while Pop Vox is looking for a voter. Please be ready to go as soon as you hear the beep otherwise there's an annoying delay on the voter's end.

10. When you get a voter:

a. If the voter is home: read the script and get the answer to the question, which is: Do you plan to vote on November 7?
b. If the voter is not home: tell whoever answers that we are encouraging her to vote on November 7 and that we will call back

c. If you get an answering machine: hit the PLAY RECORDING button.

Then: SAVE CALL, NEXT CALL, READY FOR CALL

Pop Vox will take care of all the other record keeping for answering machines.

11. To end the call: Do not hang up the phone! Click "End Call."

12. Fill out the response fields. They are easy to understand. Use the drop-down menus to see your options.

If you spoke to someone who is not the voter, choose "WILL CALL BACK."

If you forgot to hit PLAY RECORDING and read the script into an answering machine, choose "LEFT MESSAGE."

13. Click "Save Call."

14. Click "New Call."

15. Click "Ready for Call" and the whole process starts over again.

Help Bring Real Change to the Philly Suburbs

2006-10-20T01:23:00.000-04:00

PA Action, working with Women's Voices Women's Votes and US Action, is working a non-partisan campaign on the phones and on the ground to turnout likely progressive female voters this election. You've probably read about WVWV over at MyDD. As Matt said in that post:

Right-wingers have two giant fears. The first is if evangelicals stop voting, as they did from the 1920s until the late 1970s. The second is if single women start voting.

That second part is our plan and you can help from the comfort and convenience of your home. We need four hundred people to each call one hundred names on our list. That's about two hours of work per person. Trust me, it goes by more quickly than you may imagine. The script is short and direct. The focus voters are people we need to get to the polls if we want to see some change in the direction this country.

Please make the jump and find out how you can spend a couple of hours helping to get this country back on track.

Thanks!

Here's what you do:

1. Please remember that this calling is non-partisan. We aren't encouraging anyone to vote for any candidate in particular. We are working on turning out women who are likely progressive voters.

2. Go to PA Action's page at Pop Vox.

3. Register to make calls.

4. Login

5. When you are ready to make calls, click on the Make Calls
link.

6. Select a campaign. You can choose between Bucks and
Delaware Counties.

7. Click MAKE CALLS

8. Enter the phone number you are calling from. The system will call you and from the time you answer, you don't need to touch the phone again. In fact, I hooked up an earpiece because I kept hanging up after I talked to voters, which disconnected me from the system - no good. It's a hard habit to break if the phone is in your hand.

9. Your phone will ring. when you answer it, you'll hear music until you click "Ready for Call." Then Pop Vox will look for a voter for you to talk to. Please be ready to go as soon as you hear the beep otherwise there's an annoying delay on the voter's end.

10. When you get a voter, read the script and get the answer to the question, which is: Do you plan to vote on November 7?

11. Do not hang up the phone! Click "End Call."

12. Fill out the response fields.

13. Click "Save Call."

14. Click "New Call."

15. Click "Ready for Call" and the whole process starts over again.

Two hours. 100 voters. Help bring real change to southeastern PA and the country.

PA Action Opens Community Office and Rolls Out Invest in America's Future Agenda

2006-09-15T11:02:00.000-04:00

PA Action's community office opened today with a press conference and roll out of the Invest in America's Future Agenda.

Speakers included John Jordan, Chairman of the NAACP; Judy Gordon, local health care expert; Chuck Pennacchio, former PA Dem Sen candidate who spoke about the need for investment in Clean Energy; and Craig Kaufman, co-director of PA Action. Craig spoke about the context of this work and PA Action's committment to progressive values not only in word but in deed:

We are absolutely committed to manifesting progressive values. And we're going to manifest them by having this kind of a space. If we have to have flea markets outside, or if we have to have community events, AA meetings, ... whoever wants to be here because they want to do something better with themselves, their community, with their country, we're going to get them here. We're going to give them a platform to come here. We're going to give them a red carpet to get here because we want that, we need that.

We are all tired of politics as usual. ... And at the end of the day, like John Jordan said, anyone who does that, who doesn't walk in the right direction, we're going to hold their feet to the fire. We're going to pull them over and we're going to get someone else to walk with us because this is the way it's got to be done.

There's been a lot of talk about how to work with people. We're offering people a space and an idea and some issues and some resources. And we're absolutely committed to that being a vista from which they can jump into their dreams.

Social Security Preservation Rally in Harrisburg

2006-08-15T22:53:00.000-04:00

That's a photo from today's PA Action Social Security preservation rally held outside Sen. Santorum's Harrisburg office. Jeff Garis, Craig Kaufman, Chuck Pennacchio and two dozen interested citizens of all ages were in Harrisburg today to remind everyone within earshot - and eyeshot of the giant gorilla - that Social Security is still very much at risk. From the press release:

“Social Security privatization schemes are the ‘800 lb. gorilla in the room,’” noted PA Action spokesperson Jeff Garis. PA Action’s Communications Director Chuck Pennacchio of Plumsteadville added, “The President has been trying to privatize this proud program since he ran for Congress in the 1970s. This is an organized attack, a well-planned cynical attack by radical extremists. We are here to celebrate Social Security – and to stand up for it.”

Sharon Shope of York county, there with her two children, said, “Our president has declared, ‘now is the time’ to privatize Social Security. And that’s simply not fair and not right.”

PA Action’s Craig Kaufman of Levittown stated, “This effort is being orchestrated by our own senator, and Pennsylvania won’t stand for that. They can say no to our cake, but they can’t say no to the truth of our message.” PA Action is a state affiliate of US Action and national partner of Americans United, the group which led the fight to beat back the Bush-privatization proposal in 2005.

And in case you forgot why Senator Santorum needs to hear from his constituents about this issue:

SEN. SANTORUM’S PRO-PRIVATIZATION RECORD:

Senator Santorum is a co-sponsor of S 1302, the bill that would use the Social Security surplus to help fund private accounts. [S 1302, 6/23/05] Senator Santorum voted for the DeMint amendment, which would have directed the creation of a reserve fund for Social Security, but only after the Senate produced legislation allowing younger workers to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal investment accounts or permitting some other type of "legally binding ownership" of a worker's Social Security money. [S Amdt 3087 to S Con Res 83, Vote # 68, 3/16/06]

Senator Santorum voted against an amendment that called on the Senate to "reject any Social Security plan that requires deep benefit cuts or a massive increase in debt.” The amendment failed 50-50. [S. Con Res 18, Vote #49, 3/15/05]

Rick Santorum Social Security Grinch

2006-08-15T14:25:00.000-04:00

PA Action held a Social Security Anniversary event outside Sen. Santorum's Harrisburg office today. Rick Santorum's office staff refused even to accept a cake celebrating the 71st anniversary of the most successful government economic program in American history. Can you imagine that? Everyone likes cake. And according to the new GOP party line, everyone loves Social Security. The word from the Republican leadership released for public consumption is that Social Security isn't a big issue in Washington. Even John Boehner is on the Social Security preservation trolley.

This is from a television news item about John Boehner, who traveled to upstate NY to stump for a local congressional candidate, Ray Meier:

While Meier and Boehner were speaking, a protest
was underway outside. The group fears both men support privatizing
Social Security. Meier and Boehner, denied the claim. Business leaders
in Cortland County had breakfast with the House Majority Leader.

How in the world would people get the idea that Boehner, who now says that he is opposed to privatization, in reality supports it? Maybe from this:

Boehner Pledges To Privatize Social Security: ‘We’re Going to Get Serious About This
In an interview with the Washington Times published yesterday, House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) promised to privatize Social Security:
Q: Where does Social Security reform stand?
A: I just met with Congressman [Frank R. Wolf, Virginia Republican],
a few minutes ago with his SAFE Commission [formed to fix the
entitlement programs]. In 1990 when I first ran for Congress, I talked
about the need to reform these big entitlement programs because the
sooner we began the process, the easier it would be to make the
necessary changes so that these programs were sustainable for the long
term. … If I’m around in a leadership role come January, we’re going to get serious about this.

Citizen action groups working to preserve Social Security are reporting from all around the country that their previously-supportive-of-the-destruction-of-Social-Security Republican legislators are flip flopping all over the place on this. Josh Marshall wrote about the wordgames they're playing here. It seems that "I am opposed to privatization" doesn't mean what anyone who speaks English thinks it does.

If your senator or congressperson is coming out against privatization now, be sure to find out exactly what s/he means when she says that. It might not mean what you think it does.

Medicare D-Day a Huge Success!

2006-07-28T21:10:00.000-04:00

Here's the press release:

Pennsylvania Action, Local Seniors, Disabled Pennsylvanians Organize Largest Lobby Day Event in County Memory, Only to be Stood Up by Absent Congressman

Over sixty concerned Bucks County residents lobby Rep. Fitzpatrick to fix the fatally flawed Medicare Part D so that it will be simple, affordable and guaranteed, only to see an attempt to pass the buck to Gov. Rendell

Langhorne, PA – Over sixty local seniors and supporters of senior issues braved the heat early this morning for a long-announced meeting with US Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick, only to find the congressman had failed to show up for his own weekly open office hours (although he found time shortly after that to attend the nearby Newportville picnic). PA Action congratulated the teeming crowd, having organized the event to convince Rep. Fitzpatrick to sign a pledge to make five specific fixes to the fatally flawed Part D prescription drug program so that it is simple, affordable and guaranteed for Pennsylvania seniors and the disabled (see below).

"We have an absent Congressman, who has proven himself to be in lockstep with an absent Congress notable only for the immoral legislation it dumps onto middle class Americans," PA Action spokesperson and Levittown resident Craig Kaufman told those assembled.

"Actions speak louder than words, and here's a diverse group of people afraid of a bill that's an attack on my family and yours. I've talked to Rep. Fitzpatrick's staff too many times. I'm tired of it," lamented Levittown senior and veterans' rights activist John Macauley. A Fitzpatrick staff member admitted Fitzpatrick was in the district and that the staff had known about this lobby visit for weeks, notably with it having appeared in a local daily newspaper.

Many of the assembled stated that the lesson of the day was that seniors and their concerns don't count. Sue DeRosier of Bristol Township said that she wanted to tell the congressman that she is concerned about the future. "I have good coverage now but ten years from now I won't and I'm concerned that I won't be able to afford to get it."

Fitzpatrick District Manager Bill Garrett, added to the confusion by unfavorably comparing Medicare Part D to health plans he has personally had. He acknowledged that Medicare Part D needed reform.

The group, waiting respectfully for over half an hour until Garrett came out, refused to be daunted, listening to a minister and other retirees' stories of their families' frustrations with Medicare Part D. Those problems range from falling into the donut hole, to unavailable medications, to confusion as to why the government is forbidden by Part D law to negotiate for lower prices from the pharmaceutical industry.

Lower Makefield resident, Robin Stelly, a field organizer for PA Action, told the crowd, "Although the congressman has chosen to skip his advertised Saturday office hours -after having been here the past two Saturdays and every Saturday as far as we know- we the citizens, the people who matter most, have made clear to one another the sad state of health care in the world's most powerful nation."

Adding insult to the injury of Rep. Fitzpatrick's absence was Garrett's inability to answer questions about the pledge, claiming to be uninformed about those issues. Jeff Garis of PA Action asked the seniors and their allies how it could be that with an annual budget of over a million dollars, the congressman and his staff could not provide a simple yes or no answer about the pledge - let alone to have called or emailed PA Action so that they could have saved the seniors a frustrating trip. PA Action's main focus in Bucks County has been to work with the congressman to get him to sign the pledge. The pledge has been hand delivered numerous times to the congressman as well as via email.

On the other hand, nearly everyone present at today's event eagerly signed 'Citizen's Pledges,' promising to use their time and energy to work for the aforementioned five fixes to Medicare Part D.

Many of the seniors, some of whom were disabled, left in disgust. "We gave him a chance, and the privilege of hearing from us," according to Macauley.

Particularly angering was the Fitzpatrick office's continuing insistence on how it was Governor Rendell's responsibility to fix the legislation, though Garrett acknowledged that after nearly a month of regular requests from PA Action he still had not sent any actual information about this. Kaufman countered, "Anyway, we care about all Americans. And while PA has reasonable social programs, Representative Fitzpatrick's passing the buck in Bucks wouldn't help the many American seniors who live in adversely affected states." (For example the percentage of uninsured in Texas is 25.1% as compared to Pennsylvania, which stands at 11.5% uninsured.)

Stelly also retorted to Garrett, "I already called all around trying to get answers to the questions you couldn't answer about state issues. One official finally just told me that maybe Rep. Fitzpatrick should consider pursuing a state office himself."

Kaufman thanked the group and closed by stating, "May 15th marked the last opportunity this year for seniors to sign up for the Part D prescription drug program. Thousands right here in Pennsylvania now find themselves locked out of the program, many of whom were simply too frustrated and confused with the prospect of choosing between dozens of private insurance plans – all with confusingly different co-pays, covered drug lists and premiums. Thousands more will soon fall into the Part D 'Donut Hole' trap where they will be rewarded with no coverage whatsoever, yet will still be forced to pay their costly monthly premiums. Few will escape this massive coverage gap, which could have dire health consequences for those who simply take their chances without their medications. If our absent congressman can't agree to simple, common sense reforms to Part D, then all of us will keep reminding him.”

------
PLEDGE:

PA Action Called on Congressman Fitzpatrick to support the following fixes to Part D:
-Reduce the cost of prescription drugs by requiring Medicare to negotiate lower prices from drug companies;
-Close the "donut hole" referring to the gap in coverage for annual costs between $2250 and $5100, which will result in millions of seniors being denied coverage each year while they still pay monthly premiums;
-Allow seniors the choice of obtaining their prescription drug plan directly from Medicare instead of from a private insurance company;
-Re-open Part D enrollment and waive the late enrollment penalty until Part D is fixed.

Tomorrow is the Day!

2006-07-28T00:03:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day

We'll be lobbying Congressman Fitzpatrick to make simple, sensible fixes to
the broken, confusing and crony-driven Medicare Part D.

Remember, according to Gail Wilensky, PhD, a health analysts with Project HOPE, a former Medicare administrator, who also advised President Bush during the 2000 presidential campaign, we are pursuing the wisest course of action:

"If you are caught in that donut hole you will be disappointed and start pressing your members of Congress to do something about it."

Join us on tomorrow to ask Congressman Fitzpatrick to make the following
simple and sensible fixes to Medicare Part D:

* Require that Medicare negotiate the cheapest possible prices for drugs
with the pharmaceutical companies;
* Eliminate the "Donut Hole" that will add crippling costs to many
seniors;
* Offer a prescription drug plan to seniors directly through Medicare
that does not require they join private plans;
* End the "bait and switch" provisions that allow private insurance
plans to drop coverage for specific drugs while seniors are locked into
the plan;
* Reopen an enrollment period so that millions of seniors will not be
locked out of help for prescription drug costs -- and drop the penalty
for joining after May 15.

PLEASE RSVP here to make the commitment to come out on the 29th. We'll be lobbying Rep. Fitzpatrick for real reform of Part D as well as celebrating Medicare's 41st birthday and our democracy.

What: Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day
When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29
Where: Oxford Valley Mall - we'll gather on the side that faces the JC
Penney parking lot
Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare's Prescription
drug benefit

Fix Medicare Part D now!
Join us at D-Day for Medicare's B-Day. July 29th at Rep. Fitzpatrick's
Langhorne office. Call 267-240-9819 for info.

Medicare Part D: Confusing, Costly and Crony-driven

2006-07-27T13:04:00.000-04:00

Only Two Days Left Until Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day!

One of the worst aspects of Medicare Part D is the prohibition on the
government to be able to negotiate for lower prices. Correcting that
inexplicable problem with Part D is one of the specific fixes PA Action
has asked Congressman Fitzpatrick to work toward. In these times of
skyrocketing drug costs, tying the government's hands when it comes to
using its buying power for bargaining purposes makes even less sense -
that is unless you're a lobbyist hired by a Pharmaceutical or insurance
company. MedicareRights.org explains:

"Families USA, looking at the top 20 Part D drugs, reported a 3.8
percent average manufacturer price hike from November 2005 to April 2006. The prices listed by Part D plans rose 3.7 percent during that period. The tiny discrepancy is due only to two popular generic drugs with stable prices that saw modest price decreases. Overwhelmingly, the Part D plans passed on the higher prices for brand-name drugs to their customers. People in the doughnut hole, the $2,850 gap in coverage built into Part D, will pay 100 percent of those inflated drug costs.

The defense from Part D plans is that the listed prices do not account for the rebates they negotiate with drug manufacturers. Those rebates, the insurance companies claim, are passed on to customers in lower premiums and copayments. There are two big doughnut holes in that argument.

First, who knows if it's true? Part D plans are required to pass on a "portion" of the rebates to their customers. There is no mandate to pass on half, a quarter or even 10 percent of what they receive. And the rebates are secret. There is no oversight of the closed-door deals between drug manufacturers and the Part D plans that are receiving billions in subsidies from Medicare.

Second, it makes the sick, the people with high drug bills, shoulder the burden of keeping premiums down. Here is how it works:

Ms. A hits the doughnut hole in May and starts paying $500 out of pocket for her medicines, at the price her Part D plan sets. The Part D plan has negotiated rebates that average 10 percent; it collects $50 every month from the drug manufacturer. In June, Ms. A�s drug bill goes up 5 percent, to $525. The drug manufacturers make more money and so does the drug plan, with higher monthly rebates of $52.50.

Multiply Ms. A by a few million enrollees, and the rebates generate major revenue for the plan. That revenue funds the company's priorities, such as outrageous salaries for top executives. Part of the rebate income may also be used to lower premiums, benefiting Ms. A somewhat, but not as much as lowering her drug prices would. However, the Part D plan could also use the revenue to lower premiums for
another plan option, one that does not cover Ms. A's drugs, but that the company is using to entice healthier, lower- cost enrollees."

PA Action wants the following sensible fixes made to Part D:

* Require that Medicare negotiate the cheapest possible prices for drugs
with the pharmaceutical companies;
* Eliminate the "Donut Hole" that will add crippling costs to many
seniors;
* Offer a prescription drug plan to seniors directly through Medicare
that does not require they join private plans;
* End the "bait and switch" provisions that allow private insurance
plans to drop coverage for specific drugs while seniors are locked into
the plan;
* Reopen an enrollment period so that millions of seniors will not be
locked out of help for prescription drug costs -- and drop the penalty
for joining after May 15.

PLEASE RSVP here to make the commitment to coming out on the 20th. Remember, we'll be lobbying Rep. Fitzpatrick for real reform of a confusing and crony-driven Part D as well as celebrating Medicare's 41st birthday and our democracy.

What: Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day
When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29
Where: Oxford Valley Mall - JC Penney parking lot
Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare's Prescription
drug benefit

Fix Medicare Part D now!
Join us at D-Day for Medicare's B-Day. July 29th at Rep. Fitzpatrick's
Langhorne office. Call 267-240-9819 for info.

3 Days Until Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day It's Time to Start Pressing

2006-07-26T13:08:00.000-04:00

"If you are caught in that donut hole you will be disappointed and start
pressing your members of Congress to do something about it." who advised
President Bush during the 2000 presidential campaign."

That bit of advice was given two years ago by Gail Wilensky, PhD, a
health analysts with Project HOPE, a former Medicare administrator who also advised President Bush during the 2000 presidential campaign.

Dr. Wilensky was right. And now is the time for all of us to show up to tell our congressman that we want to see Part D fixed today.

And it's not just the Donut Hole we want fixed. PA Action wants the following sensible fixes made to Part D:

* Require that Medicare negotiate the cheapest possible prices for drugs
with the pharmaceutical companies;
* Eliminate the "Donut Hole" that will add crippling costs to many
seniors;
* Offer a prescription drug plan to seniors directly through Medicare
that does not require they join private plans;
* End the "bait and switch" provisions that allow private insurance
plans to drop coverage for specific drugs while seniors are locked into
the plan;
* Reopen an enrollment period so that millions of seniors will not be
locked out of help for prescription drug costs -- and drop the penalty
for joining after May 15.

PLEASE RSVP here to make the commitment to coming out on the 20th. Remember, we'll be lobbying Rep. Fitzpatrick for real reform of a confusing and crony-driven Part D as well as celebrating Medicare's 41st birthday and our democracy.

What: Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day
When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29
Where: Oxford Valley Mall - JC Penney parking lot
Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare's Prescription drug benefit

Fix Medicare Part D now!
Join us at D-Day for Medicare's B-Day. July 29th at Rep. Fitzpatrick's
Langhorne office. Call 267-240-9819 for info.

5 Days Until Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day

2006-07-24T13:41:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend, Upper Bucks for Democracy and MontCo DFA sponsored two Middle East forums with guest panelists former CIA analyst, Ray McGovern and former weapons inspector, Scott Ritter. Both events were unqualified successes regarding attendance and enthusiasm from the crowds that gathered to participate in the discussion.

One of the main themes of Scott Ritter's speech, and a theme that ran through the answers to the questions he was asked afterward, was that it is our duty as American citizens to stand up and speak out against wrongs committed by our government.

Medicare's prescription drug benefit is a disaster. Please do your duty as Americans and make time to be at the Medicare Part D Lobby Day at Congressman Fitzpatrick's Oxford Valley Mall office this Saturday, July 29 at 9:15 AM.

We will be asking the congressman to pledge to work to make the following simple and specific changes to Medicare Part D:

* Require that Medicare negotiate the cheapest possible prices for drugs
with the pharmaceutical companies.
* Eliminates the "Donut Hole".
* Offer a prescription drug plan to seniors directly through Medicare
that does not require they join private plans.
* End the "bait and switch" provisions that allow private insurance
plans to drop coverage for specific drugs while seniors are locked into
the plan.
* Reopen an enrollment period so that millions of seniors will not be
locked out of help for prescription drug costs and drop the penalty for
joining after May 15.

PLEASE RSVP here to make the commitment to come out on the 29th.

What: Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day
When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29
Where: Oxford Valley Mall - JC Penney parking lot
Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare's Prescription drug benefit

Call 267.240.9819 or email info@paaction.org for more information.

Only One Week Until Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day

2006-07-22T13:32:00.000-04:00

There's only one week until the Lobby Day to fix Medicare Part D at Rep. Fitzpatrick's Oxford Valley Mall office. We'll be asking the congressman to make specific changes to Medicare Part D. Come celebrate Medicare's 41st birthday and the
fact that we're 100 days from Election Day.

PLEASE RSVP here to make the commitment to come out on the 29th.

The simple and specific changes we want made are:

* Require that Medicare negotiate the cheapest possible prices for drugs
with the pharmaceutical companies.
* Eliminates the "Donut Hole".
* Offer a prescription drug plan to seniors directly through Medicare
that does not require they join private plans.
* End the "bait and switch" provisions that allow private insurance
plans to drop coverage for specific drugs while seniors are locked into
the plan.
* Reopen an enrollment period so that millions of seniors will not be
locked out of help for prescription drug costs and drop the penalty for
joining after May 15.

What: Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day
When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29
Where: Oxford Valley Mall - JC Penney parking lot
Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare's Prescription
drug benefit

Fix Medicare Part D now!
Join us at D-Day for Medicare's B-Day. July 29th at Rep. Fitzpatrick's
Langhorne office. Call 267-240-9819 for info.

8 Days Until Medicare D-Day on Medicare B-Day Don't Miss the Party!

2006-07-21T13:25:00.000-04:00

The Lobby Day to fix Medicare Part D at Rep. Fitzpatrick's Oxford Valley Mall office is, of course, about asking the congressman to make specific fixes to the disastrous prescription drug program. But it's also a celebration.

On Saturday, at 9:15AM, we'll be celebrating Medicare's 41st birthday. Over those four decades Medicare has been the model of efficiency: (From the American Prospect)

" ... The typical private health insurer spends about 10 percent of its
outlays on administrative costs, including lavish salaries, extensive marketing budgets, and the expense of weeding out sick people. Medicare spends about 2 percent to 3 percent. And Social Security spends just 1 percent. Even low-cost mutual funds have operating costs greater than that."

That was before Part D, with its built-in sops to the big-donor insurance and pharmaceutical industries came online. But setting that horrible plan aside, the ideal and the reality of Medicare deserves to be celebrated. So celebrate we will.

July 29th also marks 100 days until election day, which is the keystone of American democracy. Don't miss the party.

And, as any good party guest knows, it's polite to give your hosts an idea of how many people we need to prepare for. PLEASE RSVP here to make the commitment
to coming out on the 20th. Not only to lobby our congressman for real reform of a confusing and crony-driven Part D but also to celebrate Medicare and our democracy.

What: Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day
When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29
Where: Oxford Valley Mall - JC Penney parking lot
Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare's Prescription
drug benefit

Fix Medicare Part D now!
Join us at D-Day for Medicare's B-Day. July 29th at Rep. Fitzpatrick's
Langhorne office. Call 267-240-9819 for info.

9 Days Until Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day

2006-07-20T18:58:00.000-04:00

What we know:

Medicare Part D does not allow the government (American taxpayers) to have a negotiating role when it comes to dealing with the pharaceutical industry.

Since 1991 state Medicaid programs have benefited from "best price" rebates from pharmaceutical companies to be sure that Medicaid doesn't pay more for drugs than what commercial insurers are able to negotiate.

To find out what we won't know, let's turn to the NYT story, A Windfall from Shifts to Medicare, from Tuesday:

Over all, the Medicaid best-price rebates have averaged about 15 percent of the list prices of the manufacturers, but some states, including California, New York and Maine have obtained even larger rebates, Professor Schondelmeyer said.

Now, under Part D, all sorts of price deals will be negotiated by dozens of Medicare drug plans, large and small. The prices will be reported to Medicare, but under a provision of the law pushed by industry lobbyists, they will otherwise be kept secret.

More secrecy. We don't need more secrecy in government. We need transparency and accountability. We can only get that by making our concerns clear to our elected officials. If we don't, we're only in store for more laws that are written of industries, by industries and for industries leading to important information being hidden from American taxpayers.

July 29th also marks ONE HUNDRED DAYS before the election. Celebrate all your civil rights and duties by showing up to talk to your congressman about this important issue.

What: Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day

When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29

Where: Oxford Valley Mall - JC Penney parking lot (Google. Map)

Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare's Prescription drug benefit

RSVP here.

Email info@paaction.org.

Thousands of Senior and Disabled Pennsylvanians Face Dire Health Consequences as They Fall Into the Part D ‘Doughnut Hole’ Trap

2006-07-20T18:50:00.000-04:00

Pennsylvania Action released a new report recently prepared by the Institute for America’s Future (pd) revealing dire health and financial consequences for the 7 million Americans who will soon fall into the program’s ‘doughnut hole’ -- a massive gap in coverage for those covered by the program whose annual drug costs are between $2,250 and $5,100. Pennsylvanians who fall into the ‘doughnut hole’ are forced to pay the full cost of their prescription drugs on top of their costly monthly premiums.

When Congress created the Part D prescription drug program in 2003 with the help of lobbyists, they designed the program to benefit the pharmaceutical industry and their other special interest campaign contributors, over the interests of American seniors and people with disabilities. With Part D, the drug and insurance companies get billions in handouts while seniors get a needlessly costly mess of confusion and corruption. Now recent reports reveal that under Part D the cost of prescription drugs have increased rather than decreased as the President and his allies in Congress promised.

Pennsylvania seniors who managed to navigate this incredibly confusing and corrupt prescription drug program at the beginning of the year will soon be rewarded with no coverage whatsoever, yet will still be forced to pay their costly monthly premiums. For the average senior, this will happen on September 22^nd but many will fall in to the doughnut hole much sooner. The most troubling reality is that few seniors will have the resources to escape the massive coverage gap, and face significant health risks when they decide to take their chances and go without their medicines. And those who fall in this year, will fall right back in next year where they’ll be joined by even more Pennsylvania seniors – because the doughnut hole will grow bigger each and every year, swallowing up more and more seniors.

The doughnut hole punishes middle class retirees and people with disabilities who’ve worked their entire lives and don’t qualify for special poverty assistance, but are living on meager fixed incomes. With the median per capita income for retirees at $14,664, individuals who hit the doughnut hole and lose their drug coverage are forced to choose between eating dinner and getting their prescription drugs.¹

The doughnut hole also costs taxpayers more money because those without coverage report worsening health and an increase in emergency hospital visits, giving rise to increased costs which are covered by traditional Medicare. Tragically, those whose prescription drug coverage has been capped, such as with the doughnut hole, are also nearly 25% more likely to die.²

Part D is thrusting millions of Americans into life or death crises and Congress must take the following action to fix Part D:

Reduce the cost of prescription drugs by requiring Medicare to negotiate lower prices from drug companies,

Close the “doughnut hole” referring to the gap in coverage for annual costs between two thousand two hundred fifty dollars and five thousand one hundred dollars which will result in millions of seniors being denied coverage each year while they still pay monthly premiums

Allow seniors the choice of obtaining their prescription drug plan directly from Medicare--instead of from a private insurance company.

Prohibit insurance companies from dropping drugs after a plan starts for people who are prohibited from switching plans.

Re-open Part D enrollment and waive the late enrollment penalty until Part D is fixed.

10 DAYS UNTIL MEDICARE D-DAY ON MEDICARE'S B-DAY

2006-07-19T01:29:00.000-04:00

It's not fair to say that nobody is benefiting from the disastrous prescription drug benefit otherwise known as Medicare Part D. According to the New York Times, there are some very clear winners from the plan:

The pharmaceutical industry is beginning to reap a windfall from a surprisingly lucrative niche market: drugs for poor people.

And analysts expect the benefits to show up in many of the quarterly financial results that drug makers will begin posting this week.

The windfall, which by some estimates could be $2 billion or more this year, is a result of the transfer of millions of low-income people into the new Medicare Part D drug program that went into effect in January. Under that program, as it turns out, the prices paid by insurers, and eventually the taxpayer, for the medications given to those transferred are likely to be higher than what was paid under the federal-state Medicaid programs for the poor.

The article goes on to point out what anyone who's been paying attention already knows: costs are soaring in large part because the government is forbidden from having a negotiating role in the process. Instead the deals are left to be brokered between the individual insurance companies and the pharmaceutical companies.

So see? Someone is happy. The pharmaceutical industry is very, very happy. Happy to the tune of billions of dollars. And whose billions are those? The article answers that question as well. Drumroll please:

Initially, the added costs will be paid by the insurers administering the new Medicare drug program. But when it comes time for the insurers to settle accounts with the government, the costs of the 6.5 million drugs for the transferees will end up being passed along to federal taxpayers, according to analysts and health care economists.

Ta da! That's some fancy fiscal responsibility for you.

July 29th also marks ONE HUNDRED DAYS before the election.

Celebrate all your civil rights and duties by showing up to

talk to your congressman about this important issue.

What: Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day

When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29

Where: Oxford Valley Mall - JC Penney parking lot (Google. Map )

Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare's Prescription drug benefit

RSVP here.

Email info@paaction.org.

11 Days to Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day

2006-07-18T01:30:00.000-04:00

The countdown continues.

Because today was taken up with on-the-ground organizing, this countdown is going to make it just under the wire. Unfortunately for many seniors their Part D wire keeps moving as the catastrophic coverage threshold which sets the opposite end of the donut hole rises. This means that more and more Medicare recipients will be trapped in the donut hole for longer periods and will have smaller chances of escaping before the whole process starts over again the next year.

If you live in Bucks County, PA, you can help.

PLEASE COME TO MEDICARE D-DAY ON MEDICARE'S B-DAY and show the county and the country that there is a vital and engaged political community in Bucks County ready to work and ready to effect real change in what's happening to our country.

Celebrate all your civil rights and duties by showing up to talk to your congressman about this important issue.

What: Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day

When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29

Where: Oxford Valley Mall (Google Map)- on the side of the JC Penney parking lot

Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare's Prescription

drug benefit

RSVP to Robin at 267-240-9819 or info@paaction.org.

You can also click here.

Number, Numbers Everywhere ...

2006-07-17T09:57:00.000-04:00

12 DAYS TO MEDICARE D-DAY ON MEDICARE'S B-DAY

Numbers, numbers everywhere. There are only 12 days until the big Lobby Day event at Rep. Fitzpatrick's Langhorne office. On the weekend of July 29, Medicare will be 41 years old. That day will mark 100 days before Election Day. We want 100 constituents to show up to ask Rep.
Fitzpatrick to do his job and work tirelessly to fix the disaster that is Part D.

Here are some more numbers to think about. Thanks to Medicare Part D:
(from the Alliance for Retired Americans)

"It is estimated that pharmaceutical companies will reap additional
profits estimated at $139 billion over 10 years. In contrast, the
typical Medicare beneficiary will receive approximately an $800 a year
drug benefit. The law substantially increases subsidies to managed care
plans. Starting in 2004, two years before the prescription drug benefit
begin, managed care plans will receive $20 billion in subsidies. By
2006, the plans will be paid as much as 25 percent more than the
traditional fee-for-service Medicare pays for each enrollee."

Of course, that's no surprise to anyone who's been paying attention over the last five years.

PLEASE COME TO MEDICARE D-DAY ON MEDICARE'S B-DAY and show the county and the country that there is a vital and engaged political community in Bucks County ready to work
and ready to effect real change in what's happening to our country.

Celebrate all your civil rights and duties by showing up to talk to your congressman about this important issue.

What: Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day
When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29
Where: Oxford Valley Mall - on the side of the JC Penney parking lot
Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare's Prescription
drug benefit

RSVP to Robin by calling 267.240.9819 or emailing info@paaction.org

13 DAYS UNTIL MEDICARE D-DAY ON MEDICARE'S B-DAY

2006-07-16T01:33:00.000-04:00

A Baker's Dozen! That's appropriate when we're talking about donut holes. Of course there are good donut holes and there are bad donut holes. The kind at Dunkin' Donuts are delicious and are 100% guaranteed to get any kid under thirteen to do his/her mothers' bidding. The other kind aren't so delicious and are only guaranteed to make the big-donor pharmaceutical and insurance industries happy.

Medicare Part D "donut hole" is really a coverage

gap. The Institute for America's Future's report, Falling into the Doughnut Hole explains how it works - or doesn't work:

Under Part D, standard enrollees will have to pay the first $250 of their medications (in 2006). After this initial deductible, 75% of their drug costs will be covered, leaving the beneficiary to pay the

remaining 25%. However, once the total medication costs have exceeded $2,250 (in 2006), the senior or disabled person must pay for their drugs completely out of pocket, while still paying a monthly premium.

This is the gap in coverage that is known as the doughnut hole. Individuals can only escape the doughnut hole if their total drug costs exceed $5,100 (in 2006), when the catastrophic coverage kicks in and 95% of drug costs are covered. But very few Americans who enter the doughnut hole are expected to get out, and those who do will quickly plunge back into it the following year.

Not delicious at all. Unless you're the insurance company collecting those premiums while not having to pay out a dime. Or unless you're the pharmaceutical company charging whatever you want for your product since the ability of the federal government to bargain for lower prices related to this program was expressly forbidden by Medicare Part D.

COME TO MEDICARE D-DAY ON MEDICARE'S B-DAY and show

the county and the country that there is a vital and

engaged political community in Bucks County ready to work and ready to effect real change in what's happening to our country.

July 29th also marks ONE HUNDRED DAYS before the election. Celebrate all your civil rights and duties by showing up to talk to your congressman about this important issue.

What: Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day

When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29

Where: Oxford Valley Mall - JC Penney parking lot

Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare's Prescription drug benefit

RSVP or get further information by calling Robin at 267.240.9819 or sending email to info@paaction.org.

PA Action's plan for Medicare Part D:

* Require that Medicare negotiate the cheapest possible prices for drugs with the pharmaceutical companies;

* Eliminate the "Donut Hole" that will add crippling costs to many seniors;

* Offer a prescription drug plan to seniors directly through Medicare that does not require they join private plans;

* End the "bait and switch" provisions that allow private insurance plans to drop coverage for specific drugs while seniors are locked into the plan;

* Reopen an enrollment period so that millions of seniors will not be locked out of help for prescription drug costs -- and drop the penalty for joining after May 15.

ONLY TWO WEEKS UNTIL MEDICARE D-DAY ON MEDICARE'S B-DAY

2006-07-15T01:36:00.000-04:00

I can tell you from recent experience that lobbying your congressperson on an issue vital to the country is a fun way to spend a small part of your Saturday morning. I'm sure that we are all very grateful to Rep. Fitzpatrick for providing open office hours on Saturday mornings. It's up to us to take advantage of the opportunity he offers us to make our position on issues clear to him.

Medicare Part D must be fixed. It's up to us to convince our congressman that he can be part of that solution. Please show up on July 29 at 9:15 AM at Rep. Fitzpatrick's Oxford Valley Mall office to discuss with him the urgency of fixing the prescription drug plan.

Come to Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day and show the county and the country that there is a vital and engaged political community in Bucks County ready to work
and to make real change in what's happening to our country.

July 29th also marks ONE HUNDRED DAYS before the election. Celebrate all your civil rights and duties by showing up to talk to your congressman about this important issue.

What: Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day
When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29
Where: Oxford Valley Mall - JC Penney parking lot
Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare\'s Prescription
drug benefit

15 DAYS UNTIL MEDICARE D-DAY ON MEDICARE'S B-DAY

2006-07-14T01:41:00.000-04:00

Woody Allen said that 80% of success is showing up. In the case of politics, that number is much closer to 100%. When it comes to Bucks County progressive politics,
success depends 200% on showing up.

AARP and the Congress didn\'t show up for America's seniors and the rest of us when they passed the confusing and corrupt Medicare Part D. It\'s up to us now to show
\nup on July 29 at 9:15 AM at Rep. Fitzpatrick\'s Oxford Valley Mall office to discuss with him the urgency of fixing the prescription drug plan.

Please come to Medicare D-Day on Medicare\'s B-Day and show the county and the country that there is a vital progressive\n movement in Bucks Couty ready to work to make real change in what\'s happening to our country.

July 29th also marks ONE HUNDRED DAYS before the election. Celebrate all your civil rights and duties by showing up to talk to your congressman about this important issue.

What: Medicare D-Day on Medicare\'s B-Day
When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29
Where: Oxford Valley Mall - JC Penney parking lot
Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare\'s Prescription\n
drug benefit

16 DAYS UNTIL MEDICARE D-DAY ON MEDICARE'S B-DAY

2006-07-13T01:43:00.000-04:00

Everyone knows that donuts are bad for you but donut holes could be even worse, and not just for the Medicare recipients who fall into them: (from the Institute for America's Future report on Medicare Part D's coverage gap)

"Medicare's coverage gap, or "donut hole," directly punishes middle class retirees and disabled who've worked their entire lives and don't qualify for special poverty assistance, yet still need to live on meager fixed incomes. The median per capita income for retirees is $14,664. Individuals who hit the doughnut hole are forced to choose between eating dinner and getting their prescription drugs. This doughnut hole actually costs taxpayers more money, as those without coverage report worsening health and an increase in emergency hospital visits which are covered by traditional Medicare. Tragically, mortality rates have increased by nearly 25% where prescription drug coverage has been capped, such as with the doughnut hole."

Please come to Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day and ask Rep. Fitzpatrick to commit to reforming the Part D disaster in specific ways that will benefit the American citizens who need the help instead of funneling money into the pockets of political donor industries.

July 29th also marks ONE HUNDRED DAYS before the election. Celebrate all your civil rights and duties by showing up to talk to your congressman about this important issue.

What: Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day
When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29
Where: Oxford Valley Mall - JC Penney parking lot
Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare's Prescription
drug benefit

17 DAYS UNTIL MEDICARE D-DAY ON MEDICARE'S B-DAY

2006-07-12T01:47:00.000-04:00

The days seem to fly by, especially in the summer. But if you're trapped in the Part D Donut Hole, paying an insurance company for coverage AND paying 100% of you prescription costs, the days drag by. Some Medicare recipients fall into the coverage gap and don't get out for the rest of the year. Then the process starts
all over again for them in the next year.

Come to Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day and ask Rep. Fitzpatrick to commit to reforming the Part D disaster in specific ways that will benefit the American citizens who need the help instead of funneling money into the pockets of political donor industries.

July 29th also marks ONE HUNDRED DAYS before the election. Celebrate all your civil rights and duties by showing up to talk to your congressman about this important issue.

What: Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day
When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29
Where: Oxford Valley Mall - JC Penney parking lot
Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare's Prescription drug benefit

18 DAYS UNTIL MEDICARE D-DAY ON MEDICARE'S B-DAY

2006-07-11T01:49:00.000-04:00

If you suffered through choosing a Medicare Part D private drug plan for yourself or a relative, then you know that there's a lot about Part D that needs fixing.

Come to Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day and ask Rep. Fitzpatrick to commit to reforming the Part D disaster in specific ways that will benefit the American citizens who need the help instead of funneling money into the pockets of political donor industries.

July 29th also marks ONE HUNDRED DAYS before the election. Celebrate all your civil rights and duties by showing up to talk to your congressman about this important issue.

What: Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day
When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29
Where: Oxford Valley Mall - JC Penney parking lot
Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare's Prescription
drug benefit

19 DAYS UNTIL MEDICARE D-DAY ON MEDICARE'S B-DAY

2006-07-10T13:51:00.000-04:00

Last year for its 40th birthday, Medicare got a gift that keeps on giving - to the pharmaceutical and insurance industries. America's seniors deserve more than donut
holes and bait and switch plans that nobody can understand.

Come to Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day and ask Rep. Fitzpatrick to commit to reforming the Part D disaster in specific ways that will benefit the American citizens who need the help instead of funneling money into the pockets of political donor industries.

July 29th also marks ONE HUNDRED DAYS before the election. Celebrate all your civil rights and duties by showing up to talk to your congressman about this important issue.

What: Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day
When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29
Where: Oxford Valley Mall - JC Penney parking lot
Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare's Prescription
drug benefit

20 DAYS UNTIL MEDICARE D-DAY ON MEDICARE'S B-DAY

2006-07-09T13:52:00.000-04:00

Have you ever received a birthday present you couldn't wait to get rid of? Last year for Medicare's 40th birthday, Medicare got a gift that made it costly and confusing and ended up benefiting the pharmaceutical and insurance industries more than Medicare recipients and their families.

In only 20 days, on July 29th, (Medicare's 41st birthday), we'll be asking Rep. Fitzpatrick to help Medicare return last year's lousy "reforms."

Join us for a lobby day at the congressman's Langhorne Office to ask him to work to fix the Medicare Part D disaster. Then have a quick donut hole with us in testament to Part D's infamous and unjust coverage gap.

21 DAYS UNTIL MEDICARE D-DAY ON MEDICARE'S B-DAY

2006-07-08T01:53:00.000-04:00

Medicare D-Day for Medicare's B-Day is also 100 days before the election. All are welcome regardless of political leaning, to celebrate the civic duty that is our elections.

Stay for a quick, energizing after-event in the parking lot after we lobby Rep. Fitzpatrick. Have a donut hole in testatment to Part D's infamous coverage gap.

What: Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day
When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29
Where: Oxford Valley Mall - JC Penney parking lot
Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare's Prescription drug benefit

22 DAYS UNTIL MEDICARE D-DAY ON MEDICARE'S B-DAY

2006-07-07T01:54:00.000-04:00

Would you stand by and watch a 71-year old person get mugged? Of course not! Then don't stand by while Medicare (and taxpayers) get mugged by the disastrous prescription drug scheme.

Join the birthday party for Medicare on July 29th and help lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare Part D.

What: Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day
When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29
Where: Oxford Valley Mall - JC Penney parking lot
Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare's Prescription drug benefit

23 DAYS UNTIL MEDICARE D-DAY ON MEDICARE'S B-DAY

2006-07-06T01:55:00.000-04:00

It's been a month since the anniversary of the original D-Day, when the greatest generation stormed the beaches to win the war against oppression. Join PA Action on D-Day for Medicare's B-Day as we storm Oxford Valley to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare Part D.

What: Medicare D-Day on Medicare's B-Day
When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29
Where: Oxford Valley Mall - JC Penney parking lot
Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare's Prescription drug benefit

24 DAYS UNTIL MEDICARE D-DAY ON MEDICARE'S B-DAY

2006-07-05T01:56:00.000-04:00

Would you miss your grandfather's 71st birthday? Then don't miss the party on Saturday, July 29th at Rep. Fitzpatrick's Langhorne office!

What: Medicare D-Day
When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29
Where: Oxford Valley Mall - JC Penney parking lot
Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare's Prescription
drug benefit

Why We Fight

2006-06-30T16:57:00.000-04:00

Lower Bucks for Democracy and PA Action are co-sponsoring a free screening of the award-winning documentary, Why We Fight. These are the details:

When: Thursday, July 13 at 7:00 pm sharp
Where: Langhorne Public Library
301 S. Pine St.
Langhorne, PA
215.757.2510
Handicapped Accessible: Y

Why We Fight examines America's military-industrial economy and how it has affected us and the world since WWII. With war with Iran looming, it is more important than ever for people to see this film. Please spread the word.

RSVP here.

You can read more about Why We Fight here.

PA Action's Lobby Day at Rep. Fitzpatrick's Langhorne Office

2006-06-24T21:00:00.000-04:00

PA Action's Lobby Day at Rep. Fitzpatrick's Langhorne Office

When: Saturday, July 29 at 9:15am
Where: the Congressman's Langhorne office, One Oxford Valley, Suite 800 (JC Penney lot)
Why: To discuss how to fix the prescription drug benefit plan (also known
as Medicare Part D)

Lobby days -- a proud tradition of democracy

Come fulfill our obligation as Americans by bringing concerns to our elected officials. Rep. Fitzpatrick provides office hours for that purpose. We need you to show up on at 9:15am and to try to bring at least a handful of concerned family and friends. We can assemble 100 constituents, and this will be sure to convince our Congressman to help fix Part D.

PA Action's plan for Medicare Part D:
* Require that Medicare negotiate the cheapest possible prices for
drugs with the pharmaceutical companies;
* Eliminate the "Donut Hole" that will add crippling costs to many seniors;
* Offer a prescription drug plan to seniors directly through Medicare
that does not require they join private plans;
* End the "bait and switch" provisions that allow private insurance
plans to drop coverage for specific drugs while seniors are locked
into the plan;
* Reopen an enrollment period so that millions of seniors will not be
locked out of help for prescription drug costs -- and drop the penalty
for joining after May 15.

This is a crucial time and a crucial event. Join us.

Please contact PA Action to get more information: Robin Stelly, 267-240-9819 or info@paaction.org.

May 15th Deadline Day

2006-05-15T12:04:00.000-04:00

Today is the last day for seniors not in the "low income" category to choose a presciption drug plan without facing a 1% per month penalty that they will have to pay for the rest of their live. This amounts to an "until death tax". The Republican controlled congress has made it very clear that they would like to continue to cut taxes for the richest 1% but are willing to punish seniors who already are overburdened by the consumer cost of Part D.

Part D is flawed, please call your congressperson and senator today to ask them to support legislation that will Fix Part D!!

Part D in the PA news

2006-05-11T11:55:00.000-04:00

Last chance for drug plan
Missing deadline could cost seniors
KATHY STEVENS The York Dispatch

With the deadline to sign up for the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan days away, health-care advocates are scrambling to help the aged and disabled in decisions that affect both financial and physical health.

Those who do not sign up by 11:59 p.m. Monday, but sign up at a later date, will face penalties. For each month they wait, they'll be charged 1 percent of the nationwide average premium cost for drug coverage, which is now $32. The next enrollment period isn't until Nov. 15. That means those who miss the deadline will pay a 7 percent penalty of at least $2.24.

While that might not seem like much now, this is not a one-time penalty. It is charged annually and increases with the average national cost. The longer you wait, the more the penalty, said John McAndrew, spokesman for the York County Area Agency on Aging.

Some 89,000 York County residents are eligible for Medicare, not including those on PACE or PACENET, said Beth Kehler, director of pro-
gram development for the Agency on Aging.

Who is affected: Part D stems from the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. Part D was the government's attempt to provide prescription drug coverage to seniors and those who are disabled.

People who were 65 and retired or had been determined disabled for 24 months and met income guidelines previously had Medicare and Medicaid. The industry calls them "dual eligible." They were automatically enrolled Jan. 1 in the lowest-cost plan under Part D but may opt out of or change their plans during the next enrollment period.

People who do not have "creditable coverage" or any coverage can either choose a Part D plan or keep what they have, which means a cash penalty if they enroll after the deadline.

"Creditable coverage" means a person's current prescription drug plan is as good as or better than Part D programs.

Those who have PACE, PACENET and Veterans Benefits Administration don't have to switch because these are "creditable," whereas drug purchases from Canada are not.

Overwhelmed and con fused: Kehler said some people have waited to sign up because they were overwhelmed and confused; others simply procrastinated and many have delayed until the last minute to save money.

She said that some people have attended seminars or have come into the Agency on Aging for assistance carrying stacks of insurance-related mail.

Many people have told agency employees that they don't need to switch plans because they use little or no medication.

But Kehler warns folks to think ahead and at least review their plans to avoid penalties. Kehler said Part D saves some people tremendous amounts of money while others will lose out.

Even as Kehler and colleagues work to notify and help Medicare-eligible residents, activists continue to push for an extension on the deadline and for U.S. legislators to fix the program.

A new fight: Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania Action partners with Americans United, a national coalition that once fought for Social Security and now has taken on Part D.

"Essentially, (Part D) was lobbied by medical insurance and pharmacies," said Julia Ramsey, field organizer for Pennsylvania Action. "It's essentially a big government handout to those industries."

The coalition asks to extend the deadline for seniors, fix the program by closing coverage gaps that require beneficiaries to pay both premiums and drug charges, and allow insurers to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for better prices, Ramsey said.

"Ideally, what we want is one prescription drug program for seniors under Medicare, not through private insurers," she said. As for penalties, Ramsey said they amount to an "until death tax" for seniors faced with confusing decisions centered on a flawed plan.

One couple's experience: Reita Langer, 78, said she and her husband, D. Morton Langer, 79, of Spring Garden Township have had Medicare and Blue Cross for years. He's a retired doctor, and she managed his office, so both were familiar with insurance.

When word of Part D got out, her husband obtained and read information about the drug plan, she said yesterday afternoon while outside Colonial Shopping Center on South George Street in Spring Garden Township.

"All these plans came out, it was so confusing," she said. "We just got disgusted and decided to keep what we had."

Their coverage is "creditable" so they won't face penalties. McAndrew urges seniors and those considered disabled to retain all paperwork. Particularly important are letters insurers were required to send clients that stated whether their coverage was "creditable."

Kehler said activists for months have tried to extend the deadline. While there's a slim chance it could happen, she urges people who haven't reviewed drug plans to do so now and sign up.

"I think there still are people who aren't aware (of Part D) or don't believe it affects them," Kehler said. "We're down to the wire."

Deadline
Enrollment for coverage this year under the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan ends Monday. Workshops in the area are scheduled as follows:

--- York County Area Agency on Agency from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday at 141 W. Market St., York. Reserve a spot by calling 771-9008.

--- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow in Penn State York's Information Science and Technology on Irving Avenue. For more information call September House Senior Center at 848-4417.

Bring insurance and Medicare cards; a list of prescriptions that includes name, dosage, frequency and quantity; any additional health insurance information; and a list of income and assets.
-- Reach Kathy Stevens at 505-5437 or kstevens@york dispatch.com.

2006-05-11T11:06:00.000-04:00

New Poll-CBS News/NY Times Majority of Seniors believe Part D is Not Working.

2006-05-11T10:25:00.000-04:00

Think Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage Program Is Working?

                                 All          Seniors              1/06

Working                 26%         30%                 27%

Not working          45             47                    54

Bush Stands by deadline, despite the fact that millions have yet to sign up.

2006-05-11T10:21:00.000-04:00

Bush Backs Monday Deadline For Seniors
Millions Have Not Sought Drug Benefit

By Shailagh Murray and Michael A. Fletcher
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, May 10, 2006; A04

President Bush insisted yesterday that the May 15 deadline for picking a Medicare prescription drug plan will stand, even as key Republican lawmakers suggested they may take action retroactively to protect people who miss the Monday cutoff.

Speaking yesterday at a retirement community in Sun City Center, Fla., Bush urged eligible seniors to act quickly. "Deadlines are important," he said. "Deadlines help people understand there's finality, and people need to get after it, you know?"

Republicans on Capitol Hill said that while they hope as many people as possible sign up before the deadline, they are willing to revisit certain coverage terms.

"There are all kinds of resources to help people make a good decision," said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), whose panel has jurisdiction over the drug program. "I don't want to discourage anyone from taking action by the May 15 deadline, so I'll consider what might be done to help those who miss the deadline after next Monday."

Republican aides said Congress could well end up waiving the monthly penalty for seniors who are not currently covered by a comparable private or state-run drug plan. One scenario under consideration would give seniors until the end of the year to choose a plan, before the extra fee takes effect.

With the deadline looming, about 5.7 million of the 42 million seniors and disabled people eligible for the drug program have not signed up. Government officials and outside advocates say the response has been lowest among those who stand to reap the greatest benefit from the program: the one-third of senior citizens who are low-income.

Families USA, an advocacy group, estimates that fewer than one in four low-income senior citizens have enrolled, despite an expensive government outreach to educate people.

"Contrary to promises by the president and congressional leaders, low-income seniors are not receiving help to make their medicines affordable," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA. "These are the very people who need help the most, yet the administration's promises to them are much more rhetorical than real."

The administration announced yesterday that it would waive the deadline for low-income seniors, who account for about half of the 5.7 million eligible seniors who have yet to enroll in any drug plan.

Julie Goon, director of Medicare outreach for the Department of Health and Human Services, told reporters that low-income seniors face a two-step process, having to first apply for a subsidy through Social Security, making the registration process more laborious. Also, the penalty that low-income seniors face would be so minimal, "it would cost more to collect it than it would be to actually have the value of that penalty collected," Goon said.

The penalty equals 1 percent of the national average premium for each month an eligible beneficiary goes without drug insurance. Currently, the average premium nationwide is $32.50 per month, which translates into a penalty of 33 cents a month. Under current law, seniors who decide to sign up in December 2006 -- or seven months late -- would pay $2.31 per month on top of the monthly premium for whatever plan they select. There is no cap on the number of months the penalty may be assessed.

For months, Democrats have sought to push back the enrollment date to allow seniors more time to sort through the different insurance packages being offered. In some regions, that number can top 40 plans, all with different premiums, co-payments, coverage gaps, preferred drugs and so on.

Wary of the potentially grave fiscal and political consequences if the program flops, the administration and Republican lawmakers have worked aggressively since last fall to get seniors covered. GOP House members in particular have held countless registration workshops in conjunction with local elderly service providers and federal Medicare experts.

Over the weekend, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt visited several African American churches as part of "Sign Up Sunday," which featured enrollment assistance after services.

The administration also has enlisted Hispanic organizations to help with outreach. Senate Democratic Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) will join more than 200 seniors at an event today to call for an extension, and some Republicans also support a delay.

"People are confused," said Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine).

Fletcher reported from Sun City Center, Fla.

© 2006 The Washington Post Company

If you can't trust the experts, who can you trust?

2006-05-04T12:30:00.000-04:00

Medicare Hotline Fails One-Third of Time on U.S. Drug Plan
May 3 (Bloomberg) -- Medicare's telephone hotline for a new federal drug subsidy gave wrong, incomplete or inappropriate answers or lost callers in one in three cases, a U.S. government report said today.

Investigators tested the hotline by making 500 calls, finding it took longer than five minutes in a quarter of cases to reach a Medicare representative, the Government Accountability Office said in the report. The office, which conducts investigations for Congress, said Medicare's handouts about the drug plan also were unclear, containing technical jargon and often not defining unfamiliar terms.

Congressional Democrats seized on the report as evidence that the Bush administration should extend a May 15 deadline for enrolling in the drug plan, which serves people 65 and older. Medicare chief Mark McClellan said this week that the program, known as Part D, plans to stick with the deadline, and that the administration isn't ``focused at all'' now on considering waiving penalties for late enrollment.

``Without reliable customer support, the Part D program isn't just complicated, it's a health-care crap shoot,'' said Representative Sherrod Brown of Ohio, the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee's health subcommittee, in a statement. The report is ``yet another reason for Republican leaders to delay the May 15th enrollment deadline.''

Administration Response

The Medicare drug plan began Jan. 1 as a subsidy to help the elderly buy medicines. The plan calls for penalties for people who haven't enrolled in a Medicare drug plan by May 15 and lack other insurance for medicines, such as through a retiree program or the Department of Veterans Affairs. Medicare pays health insurance companies including WellPoint Inc. and Humana Inc. to administer this benefit.

In its response, Medicare criticized the Government Accountability Office's work for failing to examine all of the efforts to tell the public about the drug benefit, the report said in a section reserved for the agency's comment.

The report found 18 percent of calls to the 1-800 MEDICARE hotline got inaccurate responses. Eight percent of calls got what the investigative office called ``inappropriate'' responses, including cases where the Medicare representative asked for personal information that wasn't required.

Three percent of calls got incomplete responses, and 5 percent weren't answered, primarily because of disconnections, the report said.

The report was released by Brown and four other Democratic congressmen: John Dingell of Michigan, Charles Rangel of New York, Pete Stark of California, and Henry Waxman of California.

Medicare served about 35.8 million people ages 65 and older last year, and 6.7 million people with disabilities, including severe mental illness. Many of the disabled Medicare beneficiaries previously got their drugs through the Medicaid state-federal program for the poor.
To contact the reporter on this story:


Kerry Young in Washington  kdooley@bloomberg.net

Donut Hole is a HUGE problem

2006-04-27T12:43:00.000-04:00

Disabled, Seniors Confront Medicare Hole

By KEVIN FREKING
The Associated Press
Thursday, April 27, 2006; 3:07 AM

WASHINGTON -- Mildred Lindley is stuck in a hole, the doughnut hole "right in the middle of it," she says that comes with Medicare's new prescription drug benefit.

Just four months into the program, Lindley has hit the point in her coverage where she has to pick up, at least for a few months, the full cost of the medication she takes to keep her bone marrow cancer in remission. As a result, her two-month supply of Thalomid shot up from $40 to a whopping $1,300.

"If I can't get it, I guess I'm here until the Lord takes me out. That's all I can do, because there's no way I can afford it," said Lindley, an 80-year-old from Jonesboro, Ark.

"I'm in the hole all right."

Under the standard drug benefit, the government subsidizes the drug costs for seniors and the disabled. But after costs reach $2,250, the subsidy stops until a beneficiary has paid out $3,600 of his or her own money. Then, the government will start picking up 95 percent of each purchase.

Congress designed the drug benefit to give people some help with their initial drug costs, plus help those who have massive expenses. The doughnut hole was designed to reduce the overall cost of the program and still allow the federal government to meet those two goals.

About 6.9 million Medicare beneficiaries will have to deal with a gap in their drug coverage at some point this year, according to estimates from the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health policy research group.

Medicare officials point out that, even with the doughnut hole, millions of seniors are getting financial help that they never had before. They also stress that the poorest of beneficiaries will get extra help to cover their medications.

However, there are beneficiaries who are convinced they will be worse off, many of whom had relied on free medicine provided by the drug manufacturers. They were told by the manufacturers this year that the free supplies would stop now that they were eligible for Medicare coverage.

Victoria D'Angelo of Denver relied on the patient assistance programs for many of her prescription needs last year. She enrolled in a Medicare drug plan when told by one of those companies that such help would end Jan. 1.

Now, that she's hit the doughnut hole, she's charging some of her drugs to her credit card. She said she'll worry about the ramifications later since she cannot afford to skip taking her Seroquel, which is used to control bipolar disorder.

"Basically, I've been to hell and back on this," said D'Angelo, referring to her disease. "I'm just deathly afraid of getting sick again."

Shirley Rhodes of Gladwin, Mich., figures that while she and her husband, Samuel, are in the doughnut hole, they'll have about $49.67 a month to live on after covering their drug expenses.

For that reason, they will wait until the last possible day to enroll in a Medicare drug plan. In the meantime, she'll continue to ask the pharmaceutical companies to help her out, and she'll work with Social Security officials to figure out how the family might qualify for extra assistance through Medicare.

"If we don't qualify, we will be giving our house back to the mortgage company, and then we'll still owe for the second and third mortgage," Rhodes said.

Some beneficiaries pay higher monthly premiums to make the doughnut hole smaller or do away with it entirely. Also, the poorest beneficiaries don't have to worry about it at all.

Analysts say that most beneficiaries who hit the doughnut hole probably won't get there until the fall.

Mark McClellan, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, stresses that the beneficiaries may be able to avoid the doughnut hole entirely by switching to generic drugs or lower-cost brand names.

Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, says that senior citizens taking five commonly prescribed drugs for high blood pressure, cholesterol, heart disease, arthritis pain and depression could save between $2,300 and $5,300 a year under various Part D plans by switching to lower-cost drugs.

Lawmakers are also pleading with drug manufacturers to continue with patient assistance programs that allowed many low-income people to get free medicine.

"We've got a situation where it looks like the May 15 date has become an excuse for dropping the assistance that many Medicare beneficiaries rely on, and that's not right," said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

© 2006 The Associated Press

Medicare Part D is not such a value for 20% of seniors signed up

2006-04-27T12:35:00.000-04:00

1 in 5 pay more in Medicare Rx plan
Updated 4/27/2006 2:22 AM ET
By Richard Wolf, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Medicare's new prescription-drug program has increased out-of-pocket costs for about one in five participants, causing some to risk their health by reducing or eliminating medications.

Though most of the more than 30 million beneficiaries enrolled in the program are saving money, two recent surveys suggest a substantial minority of seniors and people with disabilities are not:

•A Kaiser Family Foundation poll taken April 6-11 found 55% of 154 seniors who had enrolled said the plan would save them money, 19% said it would cost more, and another 19% said they would break even.

•A KRC Research poll taken March 15-20 for the Medicare Rx Education Network, a consortium of groups working to implement the law, found 59% of 201 enrolled seniors saved money, but 23% did not.

Both polls rely on small samples of beneficiaries and have large margins of error: +/—8 percentage points for the Kaiser poll, for example. But they confirm what had been predicted about the program since it went into effect Jan. 1: There are millions for whom the plan is increasing drug costs.

Among them: most of the 6.4 million low-income people transferred from state Medicaid drug programs. Most had no co-payments for drugs under Medicaid but now pay $1 to $5 per drug.

Others include those who used to get drugs for free from drug companies or at reduced cost in state programs; those who had less expensive employer retiree coverage; and those with little or no current drug expenses who signed up for a Medicare plan as a hedge against future costs.

That last group is paying premiums but getting little or no benefit. Premiums will rise after the May 15 sign-up deadline for those not yet enrolled.

Medicare officials acknowledge that many low-income seniors and disabled Americans are paying more. They are urging drug companies and states to continue assistance to the poor who rely on expensive medications.

"Any extra help they need can and should be provided by those other sources," says Kathleen Harrington, director of external affairs at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

In one case, a 59-year-old Newburgh, N.Y., man died in March after he stopped taking medications he could no longer afford, according to his pharmacist and his cousin. Eddie Rosa, whose death was first reported by the Middletown, N.Y., Times Herald-Record, lived alone and suffered from heart disease, diabetes, seizures and other mental and physical conditions.

Despite those illnesses, his pharmacist, Marty Irons, says, "I really think he'd be alive today if he had all his medicines." Adds his cousin, Dolores Reano, "When Medicare came in, it just blew him away."

When the Medicare drug program went into effect, Steve Worrell, 53, of Black Hawk, Colo., lost the free medications he had been getting from a drug company for his disabling arthritis. Faced with a $5,400 annual bill under Medicare, he spaced out his injections. His condition worsened. "You start swelling up, and you start twisting more," he says.

Maria Oranje of Oakley, Calif., who turned 100 on Wednesday, is luckier. She takes 26 medications, but since she was switched from Medicaid to the Medicare program in January, her co-payments have been picked up by her daughter, Greta Heartfill, 62.

"If it wasn't for her living with me (and me) taking care of all this stuff," Heartfill says of her mother, "she would not have been able to make it."

Action Update 4/11

2006-04-26T13:36:00.000-04:00

PA ACTION UNVIELS CONFUSION CHART
Tuesday, April 11th, PA Action travelled to the small town of Yardley, PA to unviel the Medicare Rights Center's Medicare Part D Confusion Chart. The Chart illustrated for reporters and pedestrians the confusion seniors experience when trying to select the right presciption drug plan. In PA alone there are over 200 plans to choose from. We also urged Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, PA-8, to support any legislation extending the deadline until real changes are made to Part D to make it a fair and easy plan for seniors to use.

Action Update 4/17

2006-04-26T12:27:00.000-04:00

TAX DAY-EXTEND THE DEADLINE

On Monday, April 17th we took the Medicare Part D fight to the streets, urging Senators to extend the deadline. We also presented a check on behalf of the Taxpayers of PA to the Pharmaceautical Industry for $40 billion, which is the estimate of how much this pricey program will cost the taxpayers of PA over the next few years.

Medicare Part D continues to be confusing

2006-04-26T12:24:00.000-04:00

April 25, 2006

Personal Health

Forge Your Way Through the Medicare Drug Maze

By JANE E. BRODY

Some 12 million Americans eligible for Medicare's new drug insurance program have yet to enroll, and the deadline for doing so without incurring a penalty — May 15 — is less than three weeks away.

Although the administration says that 30 million people have prescription coverage, only 8 million voluntarily enrolled in a Medicare plan. Most of the rest already had drug insurance or were automatically rolled over into a Medicare plan.

For many reasons, people are hesitating to take advantage of this supposed benefit. The main problem has been the mandated middlemen among prescriber, patient and pharmacy.

To take advantage of the program, patients have to choose a private insurer. In every region, dozens of insurance companies offer more plans than most people seem able to sort through. You cannot, with the new Medicare Part D drug plan in tow, go to your local drugstore, flash your Medicare card and pick up your prescription.

But you can go — and I suggest you do — to the Medicare Web site and click on Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder to start. If you are not computer savvy, ask someone who is to run through the links to determine what's available in your area that will supply the drugs you use and what the programs will cost. Each plan has a monthly premium with co-payments that vary with the drug. The plans also differ in the drugs they cover.

Assembling the Information

Wending through the Web site is not challenging for someone familiar with computers. Before starting, you need a list of all the prescription drugs you take, dosages and frequency. To estimate the expected benefits from joining a plan, you have to know just how much you pay for those drugs and how much they would cost if you bought them from Canada or an organization like AARP. If the difference is not great and you can handle the payments, you may decide that it is not worth using a Medicare drug plan.

For those who have to take eight or more prescription drugs a day, chances are that a Medicare plan will turn out to be significantly money- saving — though not necessarily sanity-saving. People who reguarly take just a few prescription drugs are likely to have the hardest time deciding what to do. They may be healthy now, but what if later in the year they develop problems that require the continued use of very costly drugs?

"People who prefer to feel more secure knowing there's a plan in place to cover a future health problem would be wise to choose a low-premium plan in case something happens down the line," said Deane Beebe of the Medicare Rights Center, an advocacy organization in New York.

Others may be willing to risk needing a plan later and are not bothered by having to pay a penalty for signing up after the May 15 deadline. They should know, however, that after that date sign-ups for current Medicare recipients will be allowed just once a year, from Nov. 15 to Dec. 31 each year. Future Medicare enrollees will have a seven-month window to make their decisions.

To encourage more Medicare recipients to enroll in a drug plan now, a penalty was introduced for waiting past May 15. It amounts to 1 percent of the premium for each month beyond the initial sign-up period. If premiums increase, so will the penalties for waiting.

The introduction of commercial middlemen into the drug program has caused mass confusion among potential enrollees and is the source of loopholes and glitches that many participants have already encountered. Though plans are not allowed to increase premiums this year, they can — and probably will — increase in future years. Also, plans can change the drugs that they cover and the co-payments for each drug at any time. They can also drop coverage of some drugs entirely, but you can change plans just in the year-end enrollment periods. If a drug is dropped, the plan has to give patients 60 days' notice or a 60-day supply of the drug.

Let's say you require an expensive drug to treat multiple sclerosis and you choose a plan that now covers it, albeit with a large co-payment. If the plan decides in August to end coverage of that drug, you may be stuck paying the full amount for the rest of the year, when with luck you can find another plan that still covers it.

There is another reason that the plan you choose today may not work for you tomorrow. During the year, you could develop an illness that requires a drug that your plan does not cover. You and your doctor can file an appeal, but the insurer is not obligated to respond favorably.

Overcoming the Hurdles

Insurers rank drugs in ways that try to discourage people from choosing more costly options, even when their doctors believe the more expensive drugs are what patients need. Some brand-name drugs will require prior authorization from the insurer, or quantity limits may be imposed. In other cases, insurers will insist that patients first try a cheaper drug.

When drugs are on an insurer's restricted list, patients' doctors may have to write letters, send their patients' medical history and, perhaps, even supporting journal articles to the insurer to appeal for coverage. When such an appeal is denied, there is supposed to be an independent review. But the Medicare Rights Center said it was still trying to help patients obtain coverage for needed drugs that were rejected in January.

Another problem can arise when patients reach what is called the "doughnut hole" created by Congress. This is the point in the year that a patient spends a total of $2,250 on drugs, a sum that includes out-of-pocket payments and what the plan has paid. At that point, patients have to pay 100 percent of drug costs until they have personally spent $3,600 altogether, not including premiums, drugs not covered in the plan or prescriptions filled in pharmacies not in the patient's network (for example, when patients are on a trip).

After that point, catastrophic coverage kicks in. The patient pays 5 percent of the cost of a drug (or $5 for a brand-name drug or $2 for a generic, whichever is greater).

Before signing up with a company, consumers should consider calling its customer representative to learn how responsive they are and whether drug coverage has already been changed. Provide your list of drugs and ask about the co-payments for each and the restrictions on coverage. Also, ask friends in the plan about their experiences.

Seniors still unaware of looming May 15th deadline

2006-04-26T12:21:00.000-04:00

Many Seniors Unaware of Medicare Deadline

By KEVIN FREKING
The Associated Press
Tuesday, April 25, 2006; 5:43 PM

WASHINGTON -- About four in 10 elderly Americans still don't know the enrollment deadline for the new Medicare drug benefit is May 15, and nearly half are unaware that they face a financial penalty if they delay, according to a new poll.

Medicare officials are making an aggressive push to move people without prescription drug coverage into the benefit before the deadline. An estimated 6 million to 7 million beneficiaries out of 43 million have no prescription drug coverage.

A poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health care research group, indicates that many senior citizens aren't paying close attention to that push. When interviewers asked seniors when the deadline is, about 55 percent gave the right answer. However, 34 percent said they didn't know. Six percent said there was no deadline. The remaining seniors gave later dates.

"The numbers suggest yet another implementation challenge," said Mollyann Brodie, a vice president at the foundation.

In the Kaiser poll, 567 people ages 65 and older were interviewed in early April. The margin of error is plus or minus 5 percentage points.

It could be that many of the elderly aren't paying attention to the deadline because they have drug coverage and don't have to worry about it. But Brodie said the numbers deviated little regardless of a respondent's enrollment plans.

Some consumer advocacy groups, such as the Center for Medicare Advocacy, have called for an extension of the enrollment deadline, and they believe the survey's findings support that view.

"The whole program requires people to pay a lot of attention, so much attention that many are not going to do it at all," said Judith Stein, the group's executive director.

Many in Congress, primarily Democrats, also have called for a deadline extension.

Kathleen Harrington, director of external affairs at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the agency still supports the May 15 deadline.

"The deadline serves a valuable purpose in motivating people to pay attention," Harrington said. "These results appear to be contrary to some other tracking that we have seen, but we'll certainly take them seriously, and we'll also continue on with all of our advertising, and all the events and messaging that stresses the deadline and encourages people to sign up now."

The study showed that 47 percent of the respondents didn't know there is a late enrollment penalty. The penalty amounts to 1 percent of the average monthly premium for each month of delay. Since seniors who miss the deadline can't sign up until the next open enrollment period in November, they would face about a 7 percent increase in their monthly premium.

The Kaiser Family Foundation has been tracking beneficiaries' views of the drug benefit for several months. Among all seniors, about 30 percent have a favorable impression and 46 percent have an unfavorable one, according to their April survey.

People who have enrolled are more likely to have a good impression of the program, while people who have not enrolled have a decidedly negative impression.

___

On the Net:

Kaiser Family Foundation: http://www.kff.org

2006-04-26T12:18:00.000-04:00

We have created this blog to keep our supporters updated on Medicare Part D and Budget issues until the successful launch of our website. Please feel free to discuss any of the news items published. Thanks for visiting our site!