Friday Alert, 1-20-06

Growing Chorus Decries Botched Rollout of Part D
Drawing comparisons to the government’s tragically inept response to Hurricane Katrina, the Bush administration struggled with persistent problems in Medicare’s floundering drug benefit. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt tried to downplay blistering criticism from both Republicans and Democrats, conceding there were “a couple small groups it’s not working well for.” Those “small groups” include tens of thousands of poor elderly and disabled patients who have been denied their prescription drugs, forcing more than 20 states to spend hundreds of millions to bridge gaps caused by a system-wide breakdown.
“Part D is not just failing, it’s failing those who can least afford it,” said George J. Kourpias, president of the Alliance for Retired Americans.
While patients, pharmacists, doctors, lawyers and lawmakers scrambled to make sense of the bureaucratic chaos, all President Bush could do was remind insurers that poor patients should not pay more than $5 for their drugs and insurers were obligated to provide a 30-day transitional supply of any drug a patient was taking. The administration’s plans to address transition problems for 6.4 million dual eligibles, the poor and elderly who lost their Medicaid drug coverage for Medicare, have largely failed because no one—not Medicare's toll-free helpline staff, insurance companies or pharmacists—knew about them.
To make matters worse, Medicare officials have told states to seek reimbursement from insurance plans for the unexpected millions spent to bail out the federal government’s botched rollout. Part D insurers, already heavily subsidized by Medicare to administer the drug benefit, are crying foul claiming that states should not expect full reimbursement because plans do not pay as much as states pay for drugs. A bi-partisan group of Senators plan to introduce legislation that would require Medicare to pay states back and recoup overpayments from Part D providers.

Part D: Corrupt Policy, Corrupt Politics
Take a look at the contentious battle to enact the Medicare Part D drug benefit and you’ll find all the hallmarks of the corrupt lobbying culture Congress is now so eager to reform. For years, the Alliance for Retired Americans and seniors across the country had been demanding a prescription drug benefit under Medicare. But efforts to enact a universal benefit under Medicare were blocked by healthcare lobbies fearing a benefit designed for seniors would allow Medicare to bargain for lower drug costs and squeeze out potential profits.
After sweeping into power, Republicans saw a chance to co-opt the senior vote by delivering the long-awaited expansion of Medicare, but were also beholden to special interests, which had poured record levels of cash into Republican coffers in exchange for industry-friendly provisions. For the drug and insurance industries it was money well spent. Medicare is estimated to spend $1 trillion on prescription drugs over the next 10 years, with the healthcare industry poised to make billions in profits while seniors are left with paltry drug coverage.
Republican lawmakers repeatedly broke rules to achieve their goals drafting legislation in exclusive GOP closed-door sessions and withholding cost estimates from Congress. An exodus of lawmakers and aides who worked on the bill joined lobbying firms and trade groups—including one of the principal authors, former Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA), who negotiated a $2 million deal to head PhRMA, the drug industry's trade group, while working on the law. House leaders held the middle-of-the-night vote open for an unprecedented three hours resorting to bribes and backroom deals to pass the bill by the narrowest of margins.
“Republicans orchestrated the Part D disaster by abusing their power and undermining the rules of government,” said Edward Coyle, executive director of the Alliance. “It’s no surprise that the result was a phony drug benefit, which is why the Alliance opposed it from the beginning. If we want to see the Medicare law overhauled so it actually benefits seniors, we'll need to overhaul Congress in the 2006 mid-terms,” concluded Coyle.

Part D May Cut Off More Poor Patients from Medicine
Low-income seniors and disabled patients who received their drugs free of charge or discounted through drug company programs will need to look elsewhere as companies eliminate the programs, The Wall Street Journal reported. GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly are among the companies that will end drug assistance programs that cover hundreds of thousands of seniors. An unintended consequence of the Medicare drug law, many poor seniors will find it more expensive or find themselves unable to get their drugs. An estimated 1 million people who qualify for drug company assistance plans do not qualify for extra help with Part D. Drug companies claim the law prohibits their free or discounted drug programs while the government counters the programs are not illegal and drug companies are doing away with the programs on their own.

Tell Your Rep to Stop Passage of $40 Billion in Budget Cuts
On February 1, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote to slash $40 billion in programs aimed at the elderly, students, children and the poor. The bill will make it harder for seniors to qualify for Medicaid's long-term care assistance, cutting $11 billion from Medicare and Medicaid while shielding pharmaceutical and insurance companies from any cuts.
Starting January 23, you can call your U.S. Representative toll-free at 800-426-8073 to tell them to vote “NO.” GOP lawmakers claim the cuts will rein in a federal deficit that has ballooned under the Bush administration's excessive tax cuts. But after cutting $40 billion in vital programs, House and Senate Republicans intend to make permanent $100 billion in tax cuts aimed mostly at millionaires.
What You Can Do:
1. Call your Representative by calling 1-800-426-8073 (generously provided by American Friends Service Committee). Tell them to stop cutting taxes for millionaires at the expense of seniors, children, students and the poor.
2. Participate in a town hall or vigil organized by the Emergency Campaign for America's Priorities (ECAP) by visiting www.actnow.org.

Aloha State Becomes Latest Alliance Charter
The Alliance welcomes Hawaii as the 24th state to charter with the Alliance. Eighty-four delegates attended the Founding Convention held on January 14th in Honolulu at the ILWU Hall. Al Hamai is President, Yoshito Takamine is Vice President, Elmer Yuen is Secretary, Paul Matsuo is Treasurer. The delegates adopted four resolutions to frame their legislative agenda.
Source: Alliance for Retired Americans