Alliance Members Get Opportunity To Ask President Obama Health Care Questions
Today (Tuesday, June 8th), members of the Alliance For Retired Americans are asking President Obama their Health Care questions - by telephone. A few members of the Alliance are attending the event, which includes information on benefits for seniors under the new Health Care Law - live - in Wheaton, Maryland. Other members are invited to ask president questions by phone. In addition, several of our allied Unions are taking leadership roles and sponsoring events, including one in Las Vegas sponsored by the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT). President Obama was slated to be joined by Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Topics to be covered will include the $250 checks for seniors caught in the Medicare prescription drug "doughnut hole" coverage gap and efforts to combat scams associated with those checks.
Alliance Members in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin Also Hear From Obama & Sebelius
Last week, President Obama spoke to Alliance Members at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Firing back at his critics, President Obama stated his economic policy "prevented a global depression" and helped out ailing Middle-Class Families. Alliance Members also joined Secretary Sebelius, U.S. Representative Ron Kind of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle and Minnesota Representative Tim Walz at a Health Care Forum for seniors in La Crosse, Wisconsin. "Secretary Sebelius warned seniors that Medicare fraud is imminent, stating that the best protection is to double check with an authoritative figure before giving away any personal information," said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance.
Senate Needs To Address The "Doc Fix"
While the U.S. House of Representatives managed to pass a bill that delayed the scheduled Medicare reimbursement cuts to physicians, the Senate did not pass a similar bill. This allowed the 21% cuts to go into effect on June 1st, leaving lawmakers to scramble for solutions. Fortunately, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced that it will be holding all payments to doctors for the next two weeks in order to buy Congress a little more time to pass a bill. The Senate however, is not scheduled to deal with the 'Doc Fix' until June 7th at the earliest, causing many to call on Congressional Leadership to re-prioritize their agenda in order to pass this critical measure as soon as possible. "The 'Doc Fix' provision must pass the Senate in a timely and efficient manner, as the quality of care that Medicare beneficiaries receive is currently in jeopardy," Alliance President Barbara Easterling said. The original bill was supposed to extend COBRA benefits and Federal Medicaid assistance to the states as well, but those provisions were not included in the House votes. AFSCME (Association of Federal State County & Municipal Employees) has offered use of its hotline (888) 340-6521 for calls to the Senate regarding these issues. Callers using this line are prompted with a message to urge Senators to "avoid cuts to Medicaid and jobs" to help the economy. By entering your zip code, you're connected to your Senator's office.
New On The Alliance Website
The most recent fact sheets and scam alerts are posted on the Alliance Website. A doughnut hole update at http://bit.ly/dyAOhv explains that scammers offering to "help" seniors get their $250 rebate are up to no good, as it comes automatically (beginning June 10th). Other new fact sheets - regarding the new Health Law, a long-term care brief and advice on what to tell Health Reform skeptics, are available for download here: http://bit.ly/9gv2DN. For a report on the second fiscal Commission meeting last wee, click on http://bit.ly/aW31zR. Finally, daily news clips regarding retiree issues can also be found under "Must-Reads" on the main page.
Did You Know... Eleven states will be holding primaries today - Tuesday, June 8th: Arkansas, including a Democratic Senate run-off; California; Iowa; Maine; Montana; Nevada; New Jersey; North Dakota; South Carolina; South Dakota; and Virginia.
