MEDICARE DRUG GUARANTEE ENDS TODAY
The 90-day period under which Medicare drug plans are required to provide beneficiaries with medications they were taking prior to the drug benefit ends on April 1. The deadline is prompting concerns from doctors, pharmacists and state officials that beneficiaries will face more coverage disruptions. After the transition period ends, drug plans are no longer required to provide coverage for drugs that are not on their list of drugs offered (formulary). In addition, most states that stepped in on an emergency basis to help low-income beneficiaries also will stop paying on April 1, USA Today reports. Some beneficiaries could have to change drugs, file appeals or pay out of pocket once the transition period ends. Dozens of state health insurance counselors said in a conference call on March 15 that they were unaware of any efforts by drug plans to educate beneficiaries about the upcoming change.

SENATE APPROVES AMENDMENTS ALLOWING HHS SECRETARY TO NEGOTIATE DRUG PRICES, POSTPONE MEDICARE PART D DEADLINE; PRESIDENT BUSH
SAYS NO
On March 15 the U.S. Senate voted 54-44 in a roll-call vote to approve an amendment to the 2007 federal budget that would authorize, but not require, the HHS Secretary to negotiate prescription drug prices. Sponsored by Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the measure would require any savings negotiated by the government to go toward improving the drug benefit or reducing the federal budget deficit. The amendment faces tough sledding. Before going to the president's desk, it must survive a conference with the House, which has opposed such proposals. The president also flatly rejected such an approach when the bill was passed. That same day, the chamber voted 76-22 to approve another budget amendment authorizing the HHS Secretary to extend the May 15 deadline for enrolling in the Medicare prescription drug benefit. The amendment, offered by Senate Finance Committee chair Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), would give the secretary authority to extend the deadline but would not require doing so. The Grassley amendment also would allow beneficiaries to switch plans once during 2006 without penalty. The following day, the Senate voted 49-49 to reject an amendment by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) that would have mandated an extension of the deadline to Dec. 31 and allowed beneficiaries to change plans once without penalty. A switch by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) led to the tie. Four Republicans -- Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Lincoln Chaffe (R-R.I.), Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) -- voted for the Nelson amendment. A few hours before the Senate vote, President Bush said he did not support extension of the deadline.

SENATE SAYS 'NO' TO SOCIAL SECURITY PRIVATIZATION
In mid-March, the U.S. Senate rejected, 46-53, an amendment to the fiscal 2007 budget resolution containing language that would have established private accounts in Social Security. The amendment, proposed by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), would have allowed the Senate Budget Committee to move money out of the Social Security Trust Fund once the Senate Finance Committee approved voluntary individual accounts. President Bush set aside $712 billion over 10 years in his fiscal year '07 budget to continue trying to create private accounts.

MEDICARE TO COVER HEART DISEASE TEST FOR DEFIBRILLATOR
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on March 21 decided to allow Medicare coverage for a noninvasive test that determines the need for implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). Called the Microvolt T-Wave Alternans, the test is covered for evaluating patients at risk of sudden cardiac arrest in certain cases. CMS did not make the test a prerequisite for Medicare coverage of ICDs, and the decision does not apply to Medicaid. The test detects fluctuations linked to increased risk for life-threatening problems with heart rhythm. The procedure, which costs $322 on average, measures electrical activity in heart patients as they exercise and detects electrical signals not found by electrocardiograms. Patients who receive a positive test result are considered at risk for sudden cardiac arrest. Patients who receive a negative test result have only a 3 percent risk for death from life-threatening problems with heart rhythm within two years. The machine used to administer the test costs $30,000, and sensors cost about $75 per patient. ICDs cost between $30,000 and $35,000. The decision could save Medicare about $700 million annually and encourage private insurers to follow suit.

OLDER AMERICANS LIVING LONGER, HEALTHIER LIVES
The face of aging in the United States is changing dramatically -- and rapidly, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report, commissioned by the National Institute on Aging. Today's older Americans live longer, have lower rates of disability, achieve higher levels of education and less often live in poverty. The report, 65+ in the United States: 2005, finds the United States population aged 65 and over is expected to double in size within the next 25 years to 72 million. The age group 85 and older is now the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population. Although the health of older Americans is improving, many are disabled and suffer from chronic conditions. The proportion with a disability fell significantly from 26.2 percent in 1982 to 19.7 percent in 1999. But 14 million people age 65 and older reported some level of disability, mostly linked to a high prevalence of chronic conditions such as heart disease or arthritis. The proportion of people aged 65 and older in poverty decreased from 35 percent in 1959 to 10 percent in 2003, mostly attributed to the support of Social Security. Florida (17.6 percent), Pennsylvania (15.6 percent) and West Virginia (15.3 percent) are the "oldest" states, with the highest percentages of people aged 65 and older. In 2003, older Americans were 83 percent non-Hispanic White, 8 percent African American, 6 percent Hispanic and 3 percent Asian. To read more of the report, go to http://www.census.gov/.

INTERNATIONAL REPORT CRITICIZES BUSH'S LABOR RECORD
A report by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) harshly criticizes President Bush for serious violations of workers' fundamental rights in the United States. The study also disparages the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) for failing to providing collective bargaining rights for agricultural workers, domestic workers, supervisors, independent contractors and government employees. The report by ICFTU, which represents 155 million workers in 154 countries, also points to breaches of international standards for workers' rights to collective bargaining, freedom of association and use of child labor in the United States. It cites a clear trend toward lower standards under the Bush administration. The study not only criticizes the NLRA's lack of coverage for many workers but also cites its weak protections against anti-union discrimination and for strikes and other concerted action. Consequently, the ICFTU report says, employers are taking advantage of the weak law by running fierce anti-union campaigns, including 82 percent of employers hiring union-busting consultants to stop workers from organizing. ICFTU also reprimands the U.S. government for trying to take collective bargaining rights away from employees of the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security and the NLRB for taking away collective bargaining rights from graduate employees.

JURY DUTY SCAM
Most of us take the call for jury duty seriously, but enough people skip out on their civic duty that a new and ominous kind of scam has surfaced. Fall for it and your identity could be stolen, reports CBS. In this con, someone calls pretending to be a court official who threatens that a warrant has been issued for your arrest because you didn't show up for jury duty. The caller claims to be a jury coordinator. If you protest that you never received a summons for jury duty, the scammer asks you for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify the information and cancel the arrest warrant. Sometimes they even ask for credit card numbers. Give out any of this information and bingo! Your identity just got stolen. The scam has been reported so far in 11 states, including Oklahoma, Illinois and Colorado. The FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on their Web sites, warning consumers about the fraud. To find out more, go to http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/juryduty.asp

PENNSYLVANIA PROGRAM AIMS TO REDUCE USE OF BRAND-NAME MEDICATIONS TO CUT PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS
A state-funded program in Pennsylvania sends "unsales representatives" to doctor's offices to encourage the use of generic and other medications that cost less than brand-name treatments. The program is based on the research of Jerry Avorn, a professor of medicine at Harvard University, who has established a system that tries to encourage doctors to make prescription decisions based on scientific evidence rather than promotions from pharmaceutical company sales representatives. In Pennsylvania, the state Department of Aging will pay $3 million over three years to a foundation to implement an unsales force to counter promotions by pharmaceutical companies and reduce medication costs for the state. Members of the unsales force visit doctor's offices and discuss alternatives to brand-name medications, such as generic and over-the-counter treatments or behavioral modifications.

CHRYSLER ANNOUNCES PLAN TO TIE HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS TO PAY LEVELS
While the General Motors worker buyout dominated the news, the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler March 15 quietly announced that it was reducing health benefits for active and retired salaried employees. Under the plan, Chrysler will tie the cost of monthly health insurance premiums for salaried U.S. employees to position and salary. For the 4,100 lower-level professional and administrative Chrysler employees, monthly health insurance premiums will not change in 2007. Monthly health insurance premiums for the 9,400 mid-level Chrysler managers will increase by between 50 percent and 100 percent, or by $450 on average, in 2007. Chrysler executive employees will have to pay the expected annual increase in healthcare costs of $1,500. Overall, salaried Chrysler employees in 2007 will cover an average of 31 percent of their health insurance costs, compared with about 27 percent in 2006. Chrysler also will increase monthly health insurance premiums for current and future retired salaried employees younger than age 65 based on salary level at the time of retirement and will establish healthcare retirement accounts for retirees older than age 65. Chrysler retirees younger than 65 who had annual salaries of $50,000 or less when they retired will pay half of any future increases in health insurance premiums, and those who had higher salaries will pay a larger share. Chrysler retirees younger than 65 who had annual salaries of $171,000 or more will pay 100 percent of future increases in health insurance premiums. According to Chrysler officials, the company spent $2.2 billion on healthcare in 2005 and expects to spend $2.3 billion in 2006. Chrysler has begun discussions with the United Auto Workers for concessions on health benefits for union employees.

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QUOTE OF NOTE: WORKERS' RIGHTS IN THE U.S.
"The credibility of the U.S., which takes a strong international stand on human rights issues, is severely damaged by the lack of protection for working people, especially the most vulnerable. This only encourages other governments to seek competitive advantage in global markets by violating fundamental workers' rights."

General Secretary Guy Ryder
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions

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