Report: Out-of-Pocket Medicare Costs Double Under Republican Plan
More details out today on how the Republican move to balance the federal budget by ending Medicare would cost seniors a lot. A new state-by-state analysis by the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC) finds that annual out-of-pocket Medicare health care costs will more than double in every state for seniors turning 65 in 2022 under the Republican budget plan. Seniors living in Florida would be the hardest hit with a $7,383 jump in medical costs, the JEC estimates.
The report also shows that current Medicare beneficiaries will be harmed by the Republican budget, immediately losing preventive services such as mammograms and facing higher prescription drug costs. The Republican plan also would reopen the donut hole, the gap in Medicare Part D that had forced beneficiaries to pay 100 percent of their drug costs after they exceeded an initial coverage limit and until they qualified for catastrophic coverage.
Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), chairman of the JEC, says:
If Republicans have their way, traditional Medicare will no longer exist in 2022. Instead, our elderly will get a voucher to purchase private insurance, but the voucher won’t keep pace with health care costs. The result would be a staggering increase in out-of-pocket costs beginning in 2022. Our elderly Americans cannot afford to have their health care expenses double, but that’s exactly what the Republican plan delivers.
Click here for the state-by-state breakdown of the increase in out-of-pocket health care costs.
100,000 Petition Congress to Renew UI
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Workers today delivered petitions with 100,000 signatures to the Senate demanding that Congress extend unemployment insurance (UI) benefits to millions of long-term jobless workers.
In a telephone press conference this morning, Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.), who received the petitions, said they expect the Senate to take up an extension of UI benefits, but they have not yet gotten a date from the leadership.
You can act now to help the nation’s 6.2 million jobless. Call 1-877-662-2889 and ask for your senator’s office and then tell the person who answers the phone:
Across America, unemployment is at record levels. Emergency benefits for workers who have been unemployed for more than 26 weeks are scheduled to expire Nov. 30. I urge you to renew them immediately!
Jobs Bill: Action Needed Now
As the U.S. Senate considers a much-needed jobs bill with no certain date for a vote, the AFL-CIO union movement continues to push lawmakers to put the needs of workers and the economy before concerns over the nation’s budget deficit. Of the nation’s 15 million jobless workers, 6.8 million have been out of work for more than 26 weeks. If Congress fails to act on the jobs bill and allows federal unemployment insurance (UI) to expire, 8.2 million workers will exhaust their benefits by the end of 2010.
Over the weekend, President Obama called on the Senate to pass the jobs bill, saying the nation needs to “jump-start private-sector job creation, avoid massive layoffs in state and local government and help the unemployed. We cannot afford to slide backwards just as our recovery is taking hold. We must take these emergency measures.”
Bill Helps Workers, Communities Move to Clean Energy Jobs
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Workers would get assistance in upgrading their skills and communities could create good green jobs and build infrastructure under legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate last week. The American Worker and Community Assistance Act (S. 2742), co-sponsored by Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), would provide job training and support to workers and also would help communities adapt to a changing economy.
Says Casey:
There is tremendous potential in clean energy technology and manufacturing, but we must give workers the skills to succeed and employers must have access to a skilled workforce. Legislation being considered by Congress to combat global warming can reduce our dependence on foreign energy, increase our security and create a better world for our children. However, we also have a responsibility to our workers, industries and communities who may be affected by the shift in the economy.
Obama to Address AFL-CIO Convention
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President Barack Obama will address our AFL-CIO Convention in Pittsburgh on Sept. 15, marking a major shift in the relationship between the union movement and the White House. For the past eight years, the Bush administration waged war on America’s workers, and union members took a big step toward taking back America by playing a major role in electing Obama and a Democrat-controlled Congress.
Obama will address a convention that will make history by electing a new leadership team. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney is retiring after 14 years at the helm.
Along with Obama, the Sept. 13-17 convention will hear from many prominent political and union leaders, including Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Caroline Kennedy and NAACP President Benjamin Jealous.
