“The Medicare prescription plans hatched by this Administration are so convoluted that they are a disincentive for seniors to get the medications they need. These plans must be made easier to understand and not force seniors to pay more for less,” says AFT president Edward J. McElroy.

One of the biggest problems with the drug plan has been with “dual eligible” beneficiaries, in other words those who receive both Medicaid and Medicare. The government automatically enrolled this group into certain Medicare drug plans. But in some cases, people have not been enrolled in programs or designated as eligible for Extra Help. Despite repeated warnings from advocacy groups of potential problems in transitioning dual eligible beneficiaries, Medicare officials failed to prepare for such problems.

“Part D is not just failing, it’s failing those who can least afford it,” says George J. Kourpias, president of the Alliance for Retired Americans.

Dual eligible beneficiaries aren’t the only ones having trouble with the new program. Newspaper reports from across the country recount the stories of enrolled beneficiaries who have yet to receive their benefit cards proving they have coverage; pharmacists having problems confirming their patients’ new insurance; and seniors being overcharged for medications.

In an effort to give seniors adequate time to make informed choices, the AFT is backing a bill introduced by Reps. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) that would extend to Dec. 31, 2006, the May 15, 2006, deadline for beneficiaries to enroll in the prescription drug plan without financial penalties.

The AFT also is calling for two substantive changes in the law which would allow creation of a national Medicare-administered program and permit Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices. No changes are likely, however, before the end of 2006.

The AFT has teamed up with Medicare Interactive to connect members to an online source of information about the new prescription drug benefit. Visit www.medicareinteractive.org/aft.

Angry and frustrated that the conference offered only limited opportunity for discussing resolutions not on the preapproved agenda, Alliance delegates circulated a petition demanding that the conference consider any resolution signed by at least 10 percent of delegates. The petition opened the door for debate on issues such as the Medicare drug benefit and privatizing Social Security, issues which Alliance delegates wanted to discuss but were not included on the conference agenda.

“Most of the delegates felt handicapped on the first day of the conference. You could sense the restlessness of delegates,” says attendee Will Parry, a retired member of AFT Washington and the president of the Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans.

Delegates in attendance selected the top 50 resolutions to present and participated in working groups to develop strategies for implementing them. However, many of the resolutions offered at the conference were “milk and water” resolutions that lacked substance, says Parry.

Alliance delegates used the implementation strategy sessions to lobby other conference delegates on Social Security and Medicare, managing to get delegates to vote on whether they support or oppose private accounts. Delegates also voted for an implementation strategy that would provide comprehensive drug coverage under Medicare and allow the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices.

“The two hallmarks of the Bush administrations—Social Security privatization and the confusing Medicare Part D—were flatly rejected,” says Alliance president George J. Kourpias. “Despite a highly scripted agenda designed to promote the president’s goals, our delegates successfully forced attentions on the Alliance’s top priorities: strengthening Social Security and providing an affordable and accessible drug benefit under Medicare.”

The final report from the conference will be presented to the president and Congress by June 2006.