Health Care Reform and Retirement Security: A Fight We Can Win

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/03/17/health-care-reform-and-retirement-security-a-fight-we-can-win/

George Kourpias, president of the Alliance for Retired Americans, writes an open letter to retirees on the need to keep up the fight for health care reform and retirement security.



I often find myself wondering, “Who does our government really work for?” I felt this way when I heard that the Bush administration wants to cut $178 billion from Medicare. This targets the most vulnerable—seniors who need Medicare to afford to see a doctor—in favor of sustaining the record profits enjoyed by big drug and insurance companies. Only in Washington could this be the work of a “compassionate conservative.”

The Bush administration continues to stand by its subsidies to large insurance companies—estimated to be $150 billion over the next 10 years—to operate privatized Medicare Advantage plans, at a cost between 12 percent and 19 percent higher than if Medicare directly served these same people. And on top of this, Bush says he would veto a bill in Congress to end the ban on Medicare negotiating bulk discounts from drug manufacturers.

The pharmaceutical industry’s main trade group spent more than $22 million on lobbyists in 2007, a 25 percent increase over 2006. At the same time, prescription drug prices rose 8 percent, twice the rate of inflation. The newspaper article I read said the increases were aimed at driving drug prices higher before Congress could pass any Medicare reforms.

What all of these stories have in common is how terribly important 2008 is for us. As these issues are debated throughout the year, we must pay close attention. We must know the issues and know where the candidates stand.

Our generation’s working days may be over, but our fighting spirit remains as strong as ever. We face great challenges as we try to reform health care and retirement security, but I believe this is a fight we can—and must—win.