BUSH'S DRUG PLAN WOULD HURT SENIORS

The AFT believes that the Medicare prescription drug plan President George W. Bush outlined in his State of the Union address would force seniors to join HMOs and managed care plans in order to get prescription drug coverage. The president's plan is an assault on the current Medicare program, which provides 98 percent of older Americans with dependable healthcare coverage. Current Medicare+Choice (M+C), the HMO model for the prescription drug proposal, has failed because:

• M+C plans have abandoned more than 2.2 million beneficiaries since 1999, with another 198,000 slated to be dropped this year.

• M+C plans are reducing coverage--60 percent have annual limits of $1,000 or less compared to 44 percent a year ago--and they are offering fewer preventive benefits.

• M+C has not saved money. The average spending on beneficiaries in the program in 2001 was 4 percent higher than spending in traditional Medicare.

For details and to send a message to your member of Congress, visit the AFT's Legislative Action Center at www.aft.org.

VACCINATION PLAN RUSHED, AFT SAYS

In December, President Bush asked more than 500,000 healthcare workers across the nation to volunteer for smallpox vaccination as part of the administration's pre-emptive response to a possible bioterrorism attack. The president's request drew a cautionary response from AFT president Sandra Feldman. Although America must be prepared to prevent or appropriately respond to conventional, chemical or biological threats, Feldman said, she is concerned about the "rushed pace with which the Bush administration wants to implement its plan." The plan "seems hasty," she said in a statement, especially if there is no imminent danger of a smallpox attack.

"This approach could lead to unnecessary loss or risk of life and costly oversights due to the rush to action, which, in turn, could threaten our already strained healthcare system," said Feldman. "At the very least, there needs to be a comprehensive preparedness plan that includes the use of safe needle devices, free medical screening, and training conducted before the administration of vaccinations to avoid any potentially deadly mistakes."

Healthcare workers' rights also must be protected, says the AFT, including the right to decline vaccination, as well as paid administrative leave for workers who may require time off due to the vaccination's potential side effects, and a possible period of contagiousness.

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