• Senate To Vote Again on Medicare Bill That Fell Short by One Vote
• GAO Report Spotlights Medicare Advantage Waste
• AFT Convention Delegates To Elect New Officers, Focus on Politics
• Trumka: Don't Let Opponents Divide Us by Race in 2008 Election
• Record Number of Americans Using Retirement Funds for Emergency Cash
• Five Million Retired and Disabled Eligibles Yet To File for Stimulus Checks
• Save on Hotels with AFT+ Discounts
• Quote of Note: Medicare Advantage
• Web site of the Week: www.dtv.gov

SENATE TO VOTE AGAIN ON MEDICARE BILL THAT FELL SHORT BY ONE VOTE

After opponents of H.R. 6331, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008, prevented the measure from coming up for a vote before the July 4 recess, the Bush administration moved on to assure doctors that scheduled cuts in Medicare reimbursements would not occur until at least mid-July. Many Republicans oppose the bill because it would take away subsidies from Medicare Advantage private insurance plans-and the President has threatened a veto if MA cuts are included. According to the publication Politico, the vote has Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) "scrambling to explain himself," and GOP aides wondering why their party's leadership has risked infuriating formerly loyal doctors. The measure would have passed if Sen. Specter, who had supported a similar bill earlier, had not voted against it after some "eleventh-hour dealing with the White House." All sides say they want to forestall the physician pay cut. But paying for the fix has grown into a larger ideological battle over the direction of Medicare and how best to both rein in the costs of medical equipment and drugs and balance demands for private market alternatives to traditional government-run care for older Americans, according to Politico. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is expected to ask for another vote with the Senate back from recess. AFT retirees in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Florida are asked to contact Sens. Specter, Sen. John Sununu and Mel Martinez-who voted to sideline the measure-to ask them to vote for H.R. 6331 to prevent the provider cuts and begin to end overpayments to Medicare Advantage. You can reach the U.S. Capitol switchboard through AFT's toll-free number 866/327-8670. Call today!

GAO  REPORT SPOTLIGHTS MEDICARE ADVANTAGE WASTE

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report June 25 by House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair Pete Stark (D-Calif.) found that the private insurance companies administering these plans have spent less than projected on beneficiaries, while raking in an extra $1.4 billion on top of their $35 billion in profits. The GAO examined plans representing 78 percent of MA enrollees and found the programs only spent 85.7 percent of their total revenue on medical expenses in 2005, significantly below their projection of 90.2 percent. Under the rules of the program, insurers recording higher profits than expected are required to spend the additional funds on extra health services for beneficiaries.

AFT CONVENTION DELEGATES TO ELECT NEW OFFICERS, FOCUS ON POLITICS

The election of new officers will highlight the American Federation of Teachers convention in Chicago, July 11-14. Delegates also will vote on a recommendation to endorse Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). "The executive council agreed that Sen. Obama offers the best solutions to the important issues facing the country today," said AFT president Edward J. McElroy after the June 24 vote to recommend endorsement. More than 3,000 delegates are expected to attend the AFT convention. Randi Weingarten, president of New York City's United Federation of Teachers, is, to date, the only declared candidate for the union's presidency. Election results will be announced July 14, followed by a speech by the new president. Weingarten's slate includes Antonia Cortese for secretary-treasurer (currently AFT executive vice president) and Lorretta Johnson for executive vice president (currently president of AFT-Maryland and the paraprofessional chapter of the Baltimore Teachers Union). Convention delegates will hear from retiring AFT president Edward J. McElroy; debate and vote on policy resolutions; and rally at a Chicago-area hospital on behalf of hospital employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, who have faced years of antiunion resistance.

TRUMKA: DON'T LET OPPONENTS DIVIDE US BY RADE IN 2008 ELECTION

Speaking to the United Steelworkers' convention in Las Vegas in late June, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka called Barack Obama is the only candidate in the presidential race on the side of working people. Trumka denounced attempts to divide workers by race. "[At] the end of the day," said Trumka, "what people are going to need to hear is that when it comes to protecting jobs, when it comes to protecting pensions, when it comes to healthcare, child care, pay equity for women, Social Security, Medicare, seeing to it that people can afford to go to college and buy a home-and restoring the right to collective bargaining-Barack Obama has always, always been on our side. This is a guy who's voted with labor 98 percent of the time!" Trumka called on union members to lead the fight against dividing working people by race. "There's not a single good reason for any worker" he added, "especially any union member, to vote against Barack Obama...[There's] no evil that's inflicted more pain and more suffering than racism-and it's something we in the labor movement have a special responsibility to challenge." The AFL-CIO leader said that only by turning toward each other, rather than turning away, "by working and planning and building, together" can organized labor win the fairness, equality and decency that the labor movement seeks. The AFL-CIO executive council endorsed Obama June 26.

RECORD NUMBER OF AMERICANS USING RETIREMENT FUNDS FOR EMERGENCY CASH

According to The Boston Globe, more Americans than ever are dipping into their retirement savings early, risking their future financial security to afford medical bills, mortgages and rising fuel and food costs. This development has concerned many financial specialists, who already believe people are not putting enough into long-term savings. CitiStreet, Fidelity Investments and Vanguard Group Inc., the nation's largest administrators of 401(k) retirement savings plans, have all reported increased early withdrawals from these accounts in 2007; the number of hardship withdrawals rose as much as 17 percent. To qualify for a hardship withdrawal, applicants must show financial adversity such as high medical or educational bills, facing foreclosure or repairing a home damaged by a natural disaster. While individual accounts such as 401(k)s were rare only three decades ago, when most Americans relied on guaranteed pensions and Social Security to fund their retirement, they are common today, especially in the private sector.

FIVE MILLION RETIRED AND DISABLED ELIGIBLES YET TO FILE FOR STIMULUS CHECKS

The Internal Revenue Service has issued over 76 million checks together worth $63.8 billion to Americans eligible for economic stimulus payments; however, the delivery of payments to retirees and disabled veterans remains incomplete. To issue a payment, the IRS needs to have a person's 2007 income tax return. There are 20 million retirees and disabled veterans who do not normally file tax returns because their benefits are not taxable. The IRS has successfully contacted 74 percent of this elusive group, but 5.2 million retirees and disabled veterans have yet to send in the necessary information to the IRS. Later this summer, the IRS will send a special letter containing information on stimulus payment eligibility and how to claim it, a sample tax form, and a real tax form that can be filled out and mailed back to the IRS. People who would not normally file a tax return should file Form 1040A. Recipients must have $3,000 in qualifying income, which includes certain types of Social Security and Veteran Affairs benefits.

SAVE ON HOTELS WITH AFT+ DISCOUNTS

Celebrate Summer and save 10 percent off the Best Available Rate at thousands of participating hotel locations throughout the world! You can locate participating hotels at your destination and make your reservations. Online or use the toll-free number for the hotel you want. Go to www.aft.org/aftplus/travel/hotel.htm , to make reservations online. To make reservations by phone, call 877/670-7088 or use the toll-free number for the hotel chain listed below. Identify yourself as an AFT member and mention your AFT + ID# to the operator: 20952.

AmeriHost Inn 800/996-2087
Days Inn 800/268-2195
Howard Johnson 800/769-0939
Knights Inn 800/682-1071
Ramada 800/462-8035
Super 8 Motel 800/889-9706
Travelodge 800/545-5545
Wingate Inn 877/202-8814
Wyndham Hotel & Resorts 866/854-1604
Baymont Inn 800/980-1679

 Advance reservations are required. Offer subject to availability at participating locations and some blackout dates may apply. Offer void where prohibited by law and cannot be combined with any other discounts, offers or special promotions.

QUOTE OF NOTE

"Private plans in Medicare spend even less on medical care than they report to CMS [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services]-to the tune of over a billion dollars in one year alone. These funds go directly into the pockets of big insurance companies, not toward medical care for beneficiaries."

U.S. Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.), Chair
House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee
June 26, 2008

 WEB SITE OF THE WEEK: www.dtv.gov

On Feb. 17, 2009, all television broadcasts will switch from analog to digital signals. If you don't have a digital TV or cable, you may need a converter box, which generally retails for between $40 and $75. Find out more about the switchover and what it means to you at this FCC Web site.