• Alliance Social Security Truth Truck Heads West
• Watch Social Security Video on AFT Web site
• Flawed Medicare Guide Will Be Revised
• Alliance Releases Brief on Rx Law Implementation
• Ohio Federation Members Win Seats on
  Pension Board
• Efforts To Reduce Medical Errors Slow in Coming
• Missouri Attorney General Sues Drugmakers
  over Prices
• AFT Launches Campaign on No Child Left Behind
• Tips on Coping with Allergies
• In Memoriam: AFT Vice President Al Fondy
• In Memoriam: Marian Ceasor
• Consolidate Student Loans before Rates
  Rise and Save
• Quote of Note: Is She an Extremist?
• Web site of the Week: http://Nihseniorhealth.Gov

ALLIANCE SOCIAL SECURITY TRUTH TRUCK
HEADS WEST
With 13 states and more than 25 members of Congress visited covering 5,000 miles, the Alliance for Retired Americans Truth Truck is stopping in Washington, Oregon and Nevada during Congress’s Memorial Day recess, May 28 to June 7. The truck is delivering 1.2 million petitions signed by seniors who oppose privatization to the congressional districts of key lawmakers the Alliance believes could determine the results of the fight to save Social Security. Cities and dates are: Seattle (May 31); Portland and Medford, Ore. (June 1); Reno (June 2); and Henderson, Nev. (June 3). For more information: http://www.retiredamericans.org/truthtruck  

WATCH SOCIAL SECURITY VIDEO ON AFT WEB SITE
You can now watch “Saving Social Security,” a 12-minute video from the Alliance for Retired Americans, on the AFT Web site. Just click the Social Security video link at the bottom of the main menu page. Produced by the AFL-CIO’s organization for labor and community seniors and narrated by famed actress Olympia Dukakis, the AFT-backed video details the rich history and profound importance of Social Security to older Americans. It also outlines the consequences and perils of privatization. For more information on Social Security, go to Hot Topics on the AFT Web site: http://www.aft.org

FLAWED MEDICARE GUIDE WILL BE REVISED
The Bush administration will rewrite its 2006 "Medicare and You" handbook after complaints from various groups that the draft was unclear, misleading and inaccurate. The draft failed to mention the nearly $3,000 gap in drug coverage and also blurred the distinctions between traditional Medicare and private insurance coverage through Medicare. Medicare's drug benefit, scheduled to begin January 2006, will be administered by private insurance companies in the name of providing beneficiaries with more "choice." Hundreds of insurance companies are competing for Medicare beneficiaries, and the expanding options are increasingly difficult to explain. The annual handbook will be mailed this fall and will likely be the main source of information for beneficiaries on the complex drug program.

ALLIANCE RELEASES BRIEF ON Rx LAW IMPLEMENTATION
The Alliance for Retired Americans Educational Fund has released an issue brief describing what Medicare beneficiaries need to know about the Medicare prescription drug law. Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit: A Guide Through the Maze is available on the Alliance Educational Fund Web site at: http://www.retiredamericansfund.org/pubs.

OHIO FEDERATION MEMBERS WIN SEATS ON
PENSION BOARD
Ohio Federation of Teachers members Mary Ann Flannagan and Jeff Chapman made history May 7, becoming the first OFT members to win contested seats on the State Teachers Retirement System board in a state where NEA members outnumber AFT members by more than five to one. Flannagan, a guidance counselor in the Oregon City Schools, won the open seat to represent in-service teachers. Chapman, a recently retired 30-year elementary school teacher in Cleveland Heights-University Heights, was elected to represent retired teachers. A third OFT candidate, Teresa Green, a retired elementary teacher from the Cleveland Municipal School District, lost narrowly. Flannagan received 15,999 votes, which was 4,525 more than the candidate with the next highest total. Chapman came in second in the race for two retiree seats with 19,504 votes. In their campaign, Flannagan, Chapman and Green pledged to serve as watchdogs over teachers’ pension contributions and prevent any return to wasteful spending that occurred in the past. They also committed to preserving health insurance coverage for retired teachers by pushing for more aggressive cost-containment measures and by supporting increased funding dedicated to medical benefits. The four-year terms run through Aug. 31, 2009.

EFFORTS TO REDUCE MEDICAL ERRORS SLOW
IN COMING
As many as 98,000 U.S. residents continue to die annually because of medical errors, despite an unprecedented focus on patient safety after the release of a 2000 Institute of Medicine report on the issue, according to a report published May 18 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The new report, written by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health, says some hospitals have made significant improvements in patient safety over the past five years, but the pace of change is painstakingly slow, and the mortality rate from medical errors has not changed much. Improvements include the installation of computerized physician order entry systems, the addition of pharmacists to medical teams and the use of team instruction in the delivery of newborns. According to the report, however, 5 percent to 8 percent of intensive care patients on ventilators develop pneumonia, although hospitals could almost eliminate the problem with bed elevation, medications and periodic breathing tests. “The medical community now knows what it needs to do to deal with the problem,” says report co-author Lucian Leape, a Harvard School of Public Health professor and patient safety researcher. “It just has to overcome the barriers to doing it.” The report cites such barriers as the complexity of healthcare systems, lack of leadership, reluctance of doctors to admit medical errors and a health insurance system that reimburses providers for additional services required because of errors but not for preventive care. “We really need to rethink how we pay for healthcare,” Leape adds “What we do now is pay for services, but what we should do is pay for care and outcomes.” He recommends that health insurers pay 20 percent bonuses to hospitals with no infections among ICU patients--a move that he says would cut costs substantially.

MISSOURI ATTORNEY GENERAL SUES DRUGMAKERS OVER PRICES
Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon (D) sued two drugmakers and their parent companies May 11 over allegations that they inflated their Medicaid reimbursements by artificially increasing the average wholesale prices of three respiratory drugs. AWPs, which are set by pharmaceutical companies, are a factor in how much Medicaid reimburses for drugs. Nixon estimated that California-based Dey and New Jersey-based Warrick Pharmaceuticals overcharged the state Medicaid program by at least $15 million over 11 years. The lawsuit also states that the companies “knowingly and intentionally” misled an independent company that compiles drug-pricing data. Dey is owned by Germany-based Merck KGaA, and Warrick is a subsidiary of Schering-Plough. In a prepared statement, Dey denied the charges and said it will fight Nixon's allegations. A Schering-Plough spokesperson said the company could not comment until it had viewed the lawsuit.

AFT LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN ON NO CHILD
LEFT BEHIND
The AFT recently rolled out radio and print ads warning that many schools making solid progress are still labeled as failures under the No Child Left Behind Act. The media campaign, targeted to cities around the nation, is the next step in the union's multipronged efforts to spur the Bush administration, Congress and regulators to get NCLB right. AFT radio and print spots initially will focus on one of the most pressing problems with the law: "adequate yearly progress," NCLB's accountability formula for schools. As it is currently constructed and implemented, adequate yearly progress does not recognize real academic gains students are making in schools across the nation. Beginning this month, the AFT media blitz will build public understanding of AYP's flaws before states announce their next rosters of NCLB "failing schools" this summer. A follow-up round of AFT ads is scheduled for the fall. In addition to AYP and the much-publicized problems with the law's underfunding, the union effort also will tackle many concerns expressed by frontline AFT members and leaders: school choice provisions, the "highly qualified" requirements affecting both teachers and classroom paraprofessionals, corrective action for schools deemed to be performing inadequately, and the law's supplemental educational services provision, to name a few. For details on the campaign, go to http://www.aft.org/topics/nclb/index.htm.

TIPS ON COPING WITH ALLERGIES
Spring is in the air--literally. With all the pollen and other allergens floating around, you probably don’t need your calendar to tell you that it’s allergy season. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, more than 60 million Americans have asthma or allergies, costing the U.S. economy more than $20 billion each year in hospitalizations, medical services, lost productivity at work or school, and more. Here are a few tips to help you cope this season:

• Avoid going outside in the mornings or on windy days when outdoor allergen levels are at their highest. You can check the pollen level in your area by visiting the Weather Channel online.
• Avoid exposure to irritants, such as insect sprays, smoke, paint and pollution, which can worsen your symptoms. 
• Talk to your doctor about skin testing to determine exactly what you are allergic to so you can better avoid it. 
• Discuss treatment options to relieve symptoms with your doctor.

Above all, don’t let your allergies stop you from enjoying the splendors of spring.

IN MEMORIAM: AFT VICE PRESIDENT AL FONDY
Longtime AFT vice president Al Fondy, who was also president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers and the Pennsylvania Federation of Teachers, died of cancer on May 18 at a nursing home in Greentree, Pa. He was 69. A former math teacher, Fondy served as president of the Pittsburgh local since 1967 and of the state federation since 1980. He also served as a vice president of the 1.1 million-member Pennsylvania AFL-CIO and was a frequent AFT delegate to national AFL-CIO conventions. He had been a member of the AFT executive council since 1980 and a member of its executive committee for more than 20 years. Fondy was a key player in the early fight for collective bargaining for teachers in the 1960s, and in the early 1970s won representation rights for hundreds of paraprofessionals and technical/clerical employees in the Pittsburgh schools. “Al was a brilliant local leader who was absolutely dedicated to making sure that his members, indeed all AFT members, were well served,” says AFT president Edward J. McElroy. “He was a forceful and effective advocate for the entire labor movement. I will miss him terribly as an advisor, a colleague and friend.” Fondy is survived by his wife of 36 years, Vivian, a daughter, Jessica, his mother Bertha Fondy, a brother and a sister. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Al Fondy's name to the PFT QuEST Scholarship Fund, 10 S. 19th St., Pittsburgh, PA 15203. Messages of condolence also may be sent to the PFT offices at the same address.

IN MEMORIAM: MARIAN CEASOR
Former AFT educational issues staffer Marian Ceasor died May 22 of congestive heart failure at St. Vincent Charity Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. She was 63. In Cleveland, Ceasor was a strong advocate of the career ladder program that aided school employees in achieving certification as teachers. After a long career as a leader in the paraprofessional chapter of the Cleveland Teachers Union, Ceasor served on the AFT's national staff from 1993 to 2002. Ceasor “was a tireless advocate on behalf of PSRPs and dedicated her professional life to making sure that they had a voice at their workplace and in their union,” said AFT chief of staff Ron Krouse. She is survived by a son and two grandchildren.

CONSOLIDATE STUDENT LOANS BEFORE RATES RISE AND SAVE
With student loan rates predicted to rise by 1.2 percent or more on July 1. There’s no better time to take advantage of the lowest rates in history. If you have a recent graduate in your family, ask him or her to consider consolidating soon in order to lock in at the lowest rate possible. The AFT PLUS Student Loan Consolidation Program can save AFT members and their families thousands of dollars. This federally guaranteed program allows members to lock in a fixed interest rate and reduce their interest rate by up to 1.25 percent for the life of their loans, often cutting monthly payments substantially. Call a loan counselor at 800/936-4976 to begin the consolidation process today. Or, visit http://aftplus.slcp.com/index.cfm?bhcp=1 to learn more about consolidating student loans.

QUOTE OF NOTE: Is She an Extremist?
“Today’s senior citizens blithely cannibalize their grandchildren because they have a right to get as much ‘free’ stuff as the political system will permit them to extract. . . . Big government is . . . [t]he drug of choice for multinational corporations and single moms, for regulated industries and rugged Midwestern farmers, and militant senior citizens.”

Judge Janice Rogers Brown
Bush Nominee to U.S. Court of Appeals
    for the District of Columbia
Speech to Federalist Society, April 20, 2000

WEB SITE OF THE WEEK: http://nihseniorhealth.gov
NIHSeniorHealth offers easy-to-understand online health information on aging. Developed by the National Institute on Aging and the National Library of Medicine, the site features authoritative and up-to-date health information on topics from Alzheimer’s to exercise. It includes general background information, open-captioned videos, quizzes and frequently asked questions. Easy-to-find controls allow you to adjust type size and contrast and play audio.