• Medicare Part B Premiums To Reach $93.50 in 2007,
  Means Testing Begins
• AFT, Alliance Retirees Vow Aggressive Election Campaign
• Record 46.6 Million U.S. Residents Lack
  Health Insurance
• AFT Lobbies To Strengthen Social Security, Eliminate 2006 Medicare Part D Penalty
• A 'Perfect Storm’ for a Shift in Congress
• Growing Demand for Assisted Living Creates
  Waiting Lists, Higher Prices
• Alliance Issues New Briefs on Medicare
• Pfizer Promotes Higher Doses of Lipitor
• Schering-Plough Admits Wrongdoing, Shells out
  $435 Million To Settle Charges
• Protect Yourself with AFT+ Long-Term Care
  Insurance Quote of Note
• Web site of the Week: www.jenett.org/ageless

MEDICARE PART B PREMIUMS TO REACH $93.50
IN 2007, MEANS-TESTING BEGINS
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that the monthly Medicare Part B premium for 2007 will be $93.50, up from $88.50 this year. In addition, under the 2003 Medicare Act, the federal government will begin phasing in higher premiums for seniors with higher incomes, making them pay a higher portion of the total cost. The standard premium (25 percent of the total cost) applies to individuals with adjusted gross incomes of under $80,000 ($160,000 for couples). Individuals with incomes between $80,000 and $100,000 ($160,000 to $200,000 for couples) will pay $106 per month (35 percent of the premium). Individuals with incomes between $100,000 and $150,000 ($200,000 and $300,000 for couples) will pay $124.70 per month in 2007. Individuals with incomes between $150,000 and $200,000 ($300,000 to $400,000 for couples) will pay $150.05 per month (65 percent of program costs). Individuals with incomes above $200,000 ($400,000 for couples) will pay $162.10 (80 percent of costs). All figures will be based on adjusted gross incomes on the previous year’s tax returns.

According to the AFT, the administration’s introduction of means testing opens to the door to a number of potential problems. They include a shift in program costs from the federal government to individual retirees; undermining the social insurance nature of Part B, eventually encouraging wealthier seniors to seek lower-cost plans in the private insurance market; and eventually penalizing more middle-income seniors if, as President Bush has proposed, Congress eliminates the inflation adjustment on income levels. For more information, go to the AFT Benefits Briefing #37 on the AFT Web site http://www.aft.org/.

AFT, ALLIANCE RETIREES VOW AGGRESSIVE ELECTION CAMPAIGN
Nearly 600 Alliance for Retired Americans activists from across the country—including some 60 AFT retiree leaders—gathered in Washington, D.C., Sept. 5-8 to map out an aggressive grassroots campaign to educate and mobilize seniors around threats to Social Security and Medicare. Delegates to the five-year-old Alliance’s second convention heard from political and union leaders and strategists, attended workshops on building grassroots power and visited Capitol Hill to share their concerns with their elected officials. Convention keynote speaker AFT president Edward J. McElroy stressed the need for the delegates to involve more members in political activities, describing AFT's shared goal of increasing activism and the union’s "Count Me In" program. “Let me be clear,” McElroy told the delegates, “there are times to act. And there are times when an organization must act. This is one of those times.” Delegates to the convention adopted policy resolutions supporting national healthcare coverage; strengthening the Supplemental Security Income program serving those with low incomes and with disabilities; and greater use of early voting, voting by mail, and absentee ballots. Alliance members re-elected George Kourpias as president and Ruben Burks as secretary-treasurer and chose six community-based board members. Following a Capitol Hill rally led by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, the activists delivered donuts emblazoned with stickers saying “Rx Donut Hole No Treat for Seniors” to the Capitol Hill offices of their U.S. Senators and Representatives. Alliance members urged support for House and Senate legislation to fill the coverage gap, as well as for bills to extend the enrollment period without penalty and to allow seniors to more easily switch drug plans.

RECORD 46.6 MILLION U.S. RESIDENTS LACK
HEALTH INSURANCE
The number of U.S. residents without health insurance increased by 1.3 million in 2005 to a record 46.6 million individuals, or 15.9 percent of the U.S. population, according to figures from the U.S. Census Current Population Survey released on Aug. 29. The data show that almost one in six U.S. residents was uninsured in 2005. In addition, the report finds that the percentage of U.S. residents with employer-sponsored health coverage decreased from 59.8 percent in 2004 to 59.5 percent in 2005, the lowest percentage since 1993. By comparison, in 2001, 14.6 percent of U.S. residents were uninsured, and 62.6 percent had employer-sponsored coverage. The report also finds that: The percentage of U.S. residents with any form of private coverage decreased to 67.7 percent in 2005, compared with 68.2 percent in 2004. The percentage of U.S. children without health insurance increased to 11.2 percent in 2005, compared with 10.8 percent in 2004. Minnesota had the lowest percentage of uninsured state residents at 8.7 percent, and Texas had the highest at 24.6 percent. Fully 32.7 percent of Hispanics, 11.3 percent of non-Hispanic whites and 19.6 percent of African Americans did not have health insurance in 2005. Almost 80 percent of the uninsured in 2005 were U.S. citizens. About 961,000 of the 1.3 million increase in the number of people uninsured was among full-time workers. Ken Thorpe, a professor at Emory University who was deputy assistant secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from 1993 through 1995, commented, "We've had absolutely no federal effort or interest in insuring the uninsured since 2000. This has not been a priority of the Bush administration."

AFT LOBBIES TO STRENGTHEN SOCIAL SECURITY,
ELIMINATE 2006 MEDICARE PART D PENALTY
The AFT has joined two senior coalitions in urging Congress to strengthen the traditional Social Security system and waive the premium penalty for all Medicare beneficiaries who failed to sign up for Part D coverage before this year’s May 15 deadline. In the September letter to U.S. senators on Social Security, the AFT joined other members of the Leadership Coalition of Aging Organizations in reminding lawmakers that the estimated 25 percent benefit shortfall beginning in 2040 is a problem not a crisis. LCAO members urged measured steps to solve it rather than creation of private accounts as the Bush administration continues to propose. “Incorporating private investment accounts into the Social Security system simply cannot be done without threatening the basic income security of current and future retirees, survivors and the disabled,” the letter read in part. “Personal investments should be encouraged as a supplement to—not a replacement for—the safety net the Social Security program provides.” The second letter, circulated by the National Council on the Aging, went to Senate leaders Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and Harry Reid (D-Nev.) urging them to eliminate the Part D penalty for seniors who failed to sign up by May 15 and add funds for additional public outreach on the Part D program. (CMS has already waived this penalty for low-income seniors.) If Congress fails to lift the penalty, some 2 million Medicare eligibles would have to pay at least a 7 percent higher premium every month for the rest of their lives.

A 'PERFECT STORM' FOR A SHIFT IN CONGRESS
The combination of economic trends and voter dissatisfaction with out-of-touch politicians is creating the "perfect storm" for a shift in the political makeup of Congress, said AFL-CIO president John Sweeney in a pre-Labor Day press briefing on Aug. 30. Sweeney announced an ambitious AFL-CIO mobilization program to engage millions of voting members for mid-term elections in 21 states, dubbing the effort a "reality-based campaign to make sure that enough of the candidates who support working families win in competitive House and Senate races." In stark contrast to President Bush's rosy view of the economy, Sweeney said the AFL-CIO would focus on the economic reality that working people face today. While corporate profits and productivity have soared, wages and salaries make up the lowest proportion of the economy since the government began keeping records in 1947, he noted, and since 2000, this administration has created more than three times as many uninsured Americans as new jobs. The AFL-CIO's campaign will focus on educating members on candidates' stances on such key issues as healthcare, job creation, retirement security and gasoline prices. The AFL-CIO program will highlight member-to-member contact and could play a potentially decisive role in key races throughout the country.

GROWING DEMAND FOR ASSISTED LIVING CREATES WAITING LISTS, HIGHER PRICES
Increased demand for assisted living facilities has made waiting lists increasingly common and led to higher prices. Occupancy at the 36,000 assisted living facilities nationwide has reached near saturation at 95 percent, and the average annual cost for such facilities without health care expenses reached about $35,000 in 2005, a 33 percent increase from 2002, according to a recent survey by MetLife. Medicaid in most cases does not provide coverage for assisted living facilities, although some states have begun to allow coverage, which cost less than nursing homes. Consumers often have a tough time comparing facilities because of differences in state regulations on the facilities and option packages.

ALLIANCE ISSUES NEW BRIEFS ON MEDICARE
The Alliance for Retired Americans Educational Fund has prepared two new issue briefs on Medicare. "How Medicare Part D Fares and What Lies Ahead" examines the issues seniors faced in enrolling in a drug plan, and the economic and healthcare ramifications of this new law. Initial reports show that insurance companies and pharmaceutical giants have fared far better than seniors. The second issue brief, "Understanding Medicare's Preventive Services," highlights the preventive care services and CMS demonstration projects. Both issue briefs, along with past ones, can be found via the Alliance’s Web site: http://www.retiredamerican.org/

PFIZER PROMOTES HIGHER DOSES OF LIPITOR
Drug giant Pfizer has sent thousands of sales representatives to convince physicians that higher doses of the statin Lipitor are more effective in preventing heart disease than generic statins in an effort to maintain market share. Lipitor, which had $8.4 billion in U.S. sales in 2005, this year faces stiff competition from less expensive generics, especially the version of Zocor. The Boston Globe quoted Peter Brandt, executive vice president of U.S. pharmaceuticals at Pfizer, as recently telling stock analysts that the company’s strategy is to encourage doctors to move their patients to the higher doses of Lipitor, which cost about $3.33 per pill, compared with about $2.44 per pill for the lower doses. For the week that ended Aug. 18, prescriptions for higher doses of Lipitor increased by 12 percent, according to Bear Stearns analyst John Boris. As part of the effort to promote Lipitor, Pfizer sales representatives have cited the results of a study sponsored by the company that appeared last month in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study found that higher doses of Lipitor can reduce risk for stroke recurrence. However, John Abramson, a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School, said, "Because this is a drug company-sponsored study, what we're seeing is just tunnel vision of the effect of high-dose Lipitor on stroke.”

SCHERING-PLOUGH ADMITS WRONGDOING, SHELLS OUT $435 MILLION TO SETTLE CHARGES
In August, Schering-Plough Corp. agreed to pay $435 million and plead guilty to conspiracy to settle a federal investigation into marketing of its drugs for unapproved uses and overcharging Medicaid for some drugs. According to the Associated Press, Schering-Plough will pay $255 million to resolve civil aspects of the investigation. A subsidiary, Schering Sales Corp., will pay a criminal fine of $180 million and plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to make false statements to the government. Drug manufacturers are required to report their best price on drugs provided to commercial customers, including HMOs, to CMS and to pay rebates to the Medicaid program to make sure Medicaid obtains the benefit of that low price. Prosecutors said that from April 1998 through 1999, Schering Sales reported a false best price to the Health Care Financing Administration, CMS’s predecessor, to avoid paying millions of dollars in additional rebates to Medicaid. The company is best known for drugs including Nasonex nasal spray, Remicade for rheumatoid arthritis, and over-the-counter Coppertone sun care products.

PROTECT YOURSELF WITH AFT+ LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE
Chances are that you or someone you love will need nursing home or in-home care someday. With costs on the rise, this kind of care can diminish a lifetime of savings. Long-term care insurance helps protect your financial independence and your dignity by giving you the freedom of choice to receive care in your own home, if medically appropriate, or at a facility you select. Plan today so that you can be better prepared to spend tomorrow on your own terms. For more information, visit http://www.aft.org/aftplus/insurance/ltc.htm or call toll-free 866/253-1334. Note: This AFT + insurance is available for family members, too.

QUOTE OF NOTE
“If pension and health benefits can't be adequately maintained by individual companies...then it makes no sense to transfer these obligations to individual households."

Ron Gettelfinger, President
United Auto Workers

WEB SITE OF THE WEEK: www.jenett.org/ageless
Why should kids have a monopoly of Web logs, popularly known as blogs? You can visit online authors in the 50 plus age group and create your own blog on this site.