Health Care

Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008

hmoroz — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:04:39 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Percent by which the cost of private Medicare Advantage plans exceeds the cost of traditional Medicare: 13

Amount saved between 2009 and 2017 by setting payments to private Medicare plans at the same level as traditional Medicare: $149 billion

Number of elderly and disabled Americans insured by Medicare: 44 million

Number of uninsured Americans: 47 million

Price of a hospital bed according to Medicare’s fixed price schedule, according to The Chicago Tribune: $2,174

Price of a hospital bed that can be found online, according to The Chicago Tribune: $754

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle Class Supports. Skyrocketing health care costs are increasingly burdening the middle class: 47 million Americans lacked health insurance in 2006, an increase of 2.2 million from 2005. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, health care premiums increased 78% between 2002 and 2007, while wages grew only 19%. Medicare has shielded elderly Americans, who spend more on health care than the non-elderly, from these increasing health care costs, helping them maintain a middle-class standard of living. The scheduled payment cut for doctors offering Medicare services risked forcing many doctors to leave Medicare. Indeed, the American Medical Association reports that 60% of physicians say the cut would force them to limit the number of new Medicare patients they could treat. Stopping the scheduled payment cuts encourages that these doctors continue to accept Medicare beneficiaries.

Further, the legislation funds these cuts by reducing payments to a private Medicare program – Medicare Advantage – that inflates the costs to middle-class taxpayers. Indeed, it is estimated that private Medicare plans are paid 13% more than traditional Medicare plans would be to cover the same beneficiaries. Not only is the Medicare Advantage plan more expensive for the public than traditional Medicare, but it also undermines the principle of universal health insurance for the elderly. By reducing payments to private plans, this legislation begins to move Medicare back to its original purpose to provide public health coverage to elderly Americans to ensure their access to affordable preventive care, hospital care, and prescription medication.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Medicare Policy Project, from the Kaiser Family Foundation

“Informing the Debate about Curbing Medicare Advantage Overpayments,” from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Report on Competitive Bidding for Medical Equipment, from the Government Accountability Office

Amendment to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2008

hmoroz — Fri, 16 May 2008 18:23:04 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Approximate total award that service members can currently receive toward their education, in dollars: 39,600

Average total charges, including tuition and fees and room and board, for four years at an in-state public college or university in 2007, in dollars: 54,356

Estimated percentage of the unemployed who will be unemployed for longer than six months by the end of 2009, according to the Economic Policy Institute: 20.8

Number of states with an unemployment rate greater than 6.0% as of April 2008, including Washington D.C.: 5

Amount of stimulus produced for every $1 spent on extending emergency federal unemployment insurance benefits, in dollars: 1.64

Unemployment rate in Michigan in April 2008: 6.9%

Minimum estimated cost of the Iraq War paid by Michigan as of May 2008, in dollars: 13 billion

Estimated 10-year cost of extending unemployment insurance benefits, in dollars: 11.1 billion

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle Class Supports. The American economy remains at risk of recession and the employment picture is dim. In the first four months of 2008, the American economy lost 260,000 jobs and 400,000 workers were classified as “discouraged,” wanting work but believing that no jobs were available for them. Unemployment benefits provide direct assistance to the current and aspiring middle-class Americans likely to be hardest hit during the economic downturn. Moreover, the unemployed are most likely to spend their unemployment benefits immediately, providing an economic jolt that will enhance the stimulus generated by the tax rebates sent out earlier this year. Indeed, extension of unemployment benefits provides $1.64 in stimulus for every dollar spent, making the policy one of the most effective stimulus measures.

The “New GI Bill” measures are also important. Our nation owes those young people who have volunteered to fight for the United States a fair opportunity to enter the middle class. After World War II, the education and other benefits of the GI Bill allowed unprecedented numbers of returning soldiers to access a middle-class standard of living, but today’s GI Bill, intended for peacetime, does not provide adequate benefits. This amendment would change that. Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars face not only the challenges of readjustment to civilian life, frequently complicated by injury or mental illness, but the rising cost of higher education impacting middle-class Americans across the United States. The current GI bill covers only 60-70% of the cost of tuition at a four-year public university and less than two years at a private college. The Amendment to the supplemental appropriations bill would permit the equivalent of full scholarships to public institutions of higher learning to any service member who completed three years of service.

Imposing a moratorium on Administration-proposed Medicaid regulations will ensure continued health care access for aspiring middle-class beneficiaries and prevent a devastating loss of funding to states, public hospitals, and local schools already struggling during the economic downturn.

The provisions that increase accountability and transparency in federal contracting are welcome, but are not as comprehensive as those included in the Accountability in Contracting Act, passed by the House last year.

The Senate version contains welcome funding for programs that benefit aspiring middle-class and middle-class Americans.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

"Making the Case - Again - for Economic Rebound," from the Economic Policy Institute

Unemployment Insurance and the Stimulus Debate, from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities

"A New GI Bill," from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008

hmoroz — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:53:02 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Projected cost of sequencing the complete genome of an individual within the next ten years, in dollars: 1,000

Total cost of the 13-year Human Genome Project, including studies of human diseases and experimental organisms, development of new technologies for biological and medical research, and other scientific activities, in dollars: 3 billion

Percentage of cancer genetics specialists who would not bill their own insurance company for colon, breast, or ovarian cancer genetic testing due to fear of genetic discrimination: 68

Percentage of Americans who are concerned that results from a genetic test that can tell patients whether they are at increased risk for a disease like cancer could be used in ways that would be harmful to them: 90

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Middle Class Supports. Although cases of discrimination based on genetic testing are rare, as genetic testing becomes more widespread the risk that middle-class Americans who depend on health insurance could be denied insurance coverage or be terminated from a job solely for being at genetic risk for a disease is troubling. The legislation will facilitate the individualized approaches to health care that mapping the genome has made possible. Additionally, the bill would bolster popular support for genetic research by alleviating Americans’ fears of discrimination. Limiting the act’s prohibitions to use by employers and insurance companies would not stifle innovation in genetic research.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Genetic Discrimination Resource Site, from the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health

Dr. Francis Collins on the Threat of Genetic Discrimination to the Promise of Personalized Medicine

Protecting the Medicaid Safety Net Act of 2008

hmoroz — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:38:59 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Number of jobs the State of California alone stands to lose as a result of lost federal Medicaid funding from the new regulations, according to Families USA: 46,700

Year when the Departments of Health and Human Services, Education and Agriculture published a report concluding that schools were the best conduit for enrolling poor children in Medicaid: 2000

Date on which the Department of Health and Human Services acted to eliminate federal funds for outreach and enrollment of children in Medicaid through schools: 12/28/2007

Number of people – predominantly mentally ill individuals – who received psychiatric and other rehabilitation services under Medicaid in 2007: 1.46 million

Estimated amount of money the federal government would save in 2009 by ceasing to cover these services: $360 million

Approximate number of hours it takes to spend $360 million on the war in Iraq: 25

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle-Class Supports. More than 55 million Americans, predominantly low-income people and people with disabilities, rely on Medicaid for their health care coverage. By halting dramatic restrictions in federal funding for Medicaid, this legislation not only ensures continued health care access for these aspiring middle-class beneficiaries but also prevents a devastating loss of funding to states, public hospitals, and local schools which are already struggling during the economic downturn. In reality, the Medicaid regulations imposed by the Bush Administration do little to reduce Medicaid costs – they simply transfer these costs from the federal government onto states, hospitals, and local governments. In an effort to cope with the added cost burden, services that benefit the middle class, from trauma care at hospitals to public education, are put at risk.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Medicaid: Overview and Impact of New Regulations”, from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured

“Administration’s Medicaid Regulations Will Weaken Coverage, Harm States, And Strain Health Care System”, by Allison Orris and Judith Solomon from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities

Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2008

hmoroz — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 17:07:11 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Percent of Americans ages 18 and older who suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year: 26.2

Percentage of people who commit suicide who have a diagnosable mental disorder: 90

Percentage by which the cost-sharing for addiction benefits exceeded that for medical or surgical benefits, according to a 2007 Health Affairs study of employer-provided benefits: 46%

Out-of-pocket savings per user of mental health and substance-abuse services in the best of seven plans studies by the New England Journal of Medicine before and after the implementation of parity in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program: $87.06

Percentage of insurance plans that contained at least one plan feature that was more restrictive for mental health benefits than for medical and surgical benefits two years after the implementation of the Mental Health Parity Act: 87

Date on which President Bush announced that “health plans should not be allowed to apply unfair treatment limitations or financial requirements on mental health benefits”: April 29, 2002

Approximate success rate for the treatment of depression, according to the National Institute of Mental Health: 80

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle Class Supports. While the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program has recognized the importance of providing equal coverage for mental health disorders and medical and surgical procedures since 1999, millions of middle-class Americans who are insured by other plans still struggle to afford mental health care services. Although approximately 26.2% of Americans older than 18 suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder and although mental disorders are the leading cause of disability in the United States for individuals ages 15-44, the General Accounting Office found that 87% of health care plans impose more severe restrictions on mental health benefits than they do on medical and surgical benefits. The Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act improves upon the financial parity requirements of the Mental Health Parity Act by preventing group insurers from inhibiting beneficiaries’ access to mental health services by restricting frequency and number of office visits and days of coverage. Such restrictions force individuals seeking mental health care to pay for expensive services out-of-pocket. The legislation not only does much to remedy the discriminatory practices of insurers, but will increase access to mental health care services for middle-class Americans already struggling with high health care costs. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that health insurance premiums will increase by only .4%. The Parity Act also helps to dispel the misguided notion that mental health care is less important than medical and surgical services.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Testimony of David Wellstone, Co-Founder of Wellstone Action, before the House Committee on Education and Labor

"The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America", from the National Institute of Mental Health

Fact Sheet on Mental Health and Substance Abuse Parity from the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management

Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 [Revised bill]

atraub — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:08:54 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Number of children who would have health care coverage by 2012 if this legislation passes who would otherwise be uninsured: 3.9 million

Increase in the number of uninsured children between 2005 and 2006: 611,000

Percentage of uninsured children who saw a doctor for a medical check up, emergency care, or any other reason during the previous year: 51

Percentage of insured children who saw a doctor in that time: 76

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle Class Supports: SCHIP has been highly successful at reducing the number of uninsured children, but a lack of funding has limited its reach, leaving 9 million American children uninsured in 2006. The shortfall has consequences, not only for children’s individual health and well-being, but for society as a whole, which bears the cost of preventable emergency room visits from children who never got preventive care. By renewing SCHIP and expanding it to more low- and middle-income children, this bill offers children a healthy start in life.

Steeply rising costs over the past several years have made health coverage unaffordable, not only for the poor, but also for a growing number of middle-class families. Since 2000, the premium that the average American employee pays for health coverage has risen more than 83 percent, increasing more than four times faster than wages. At the same time, more employers are dropping insurance plans entirely, and coverage is even more expensive for Americans who must purchase it themselves on the open market. Being able to take a child to the doctor for regular check-ups and immunizations is fundamental to a middle-class standard of living.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Health Policy page, with an SCHIP subsection

“Foundation Resources on the State Children's Health Insurance Program and the Debate on Its Reauthorization,” from the Kaiser Family Foundation

“SCHIP 101:What Is the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and How Does It Work?” from Families USA

United States National Health Insurance Act of 2007

atraub — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 11:11:41 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

FDA Amendments Act of 2007

atraub — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:29:15 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Number of letters sent by the FDA to pharmaceutical manufacturers warning them that they had violated regulations for prescription-drug advertising in 1997: 142

Number of letters sent in 2006: 21

Percentage of the warning letters regarding direct-to-consumer advertisements between 1997 and 2006 that admonished drug companies for minimizing drug risk or exaggerating drug effectiveness: 84

Pounds of imported foods the average American eats in a year: 260

Percentage of food imports currently inspected by the FDA: 1

Estimated number of Americans who become sick each year due to food-borne illness: 76 million

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle Class Supports. Middle-class Americans depend on over-the-counter and prescription drugs for everything from relieving aches and pains to sustaining life. Because these medications are so important, and because every drug has risks associated with it, the power this legislation provides the FDA to more closely regulate the pharmaceutical industry is vital. Middle-class Americans, inundated with advertisements extolling the benefits of innumerable and at times indistinguishable medications, need the FDA to ensure that the drugs they rely upon are safe and appropriate for the individuals to whom they are marketed.

For more than five years, 20 million Americans took the arthritis pain medication Vioxx before studies demonstrating an increased risk of heart attacks associated with the drug forced Merck to withdraw it. The new authority that this legislation grants the FDA to demand post-approval studies of medications is a regulatory tool that could have exposed the risks associated with Vioxx much sooner, saving many Americans from heart attack and death. Fines to punish false advertisements will do much to ensure that Americans are not misled about the purposes, risks, and benefits of the medications they are taking. Finally, the concealment and obfuscation of safety information that puts consumers at risk of taking dangerous drugs – a charge that Merck has faced in the products liability litigation involving Vioxx – will be made difficult by the FDAAA’s expansion of public access to safety data. A public database of clinical trial data with mandatory disclosure requirements will allow consumer advocacy groups, concerned academics, and products liability litigators, along with jealous industry competitors, to expose misinformation, ultimately protecting middle-class consumers.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Drug Safety: FDA Needs to Further Address Shortcomings in Its Postmarket Decision-making Process,” from the GAO

“Prescription Drugs: Improvements Needed in FDA’s Oversight of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising,” from the GAO

“The Future of Drug Safety: Action Steps for Congress,” from the Institute of Medicine

Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007

atraub — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 11:16:52 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Number of children who would have health care coverage by 2012 if this legislation passes who would otherwise be uninsured: 3.8 million

Increase in the number of uninsured children between 2005 and 2006: 611,000

Percentage of uninsured children who saw a doctor for a medical check up, emergency care, or any other reason during the previous year: 51

Percentage of insured children who saw a doctor in that time: 76

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Health Policy page, with an SCHIP subsection

“Foundation Resources on the State Children's Health Insurance Program and the Debate on Its Reauthorization,” from the Kaiser Family Foundation

“SCHIP 101:What Is the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and How Does It Work?” from Families USA

Medicare Fair Prescription Drug Price Act of 2007

atraub — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:52:29 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Percentage increase between 2000 and 2006 in the cost of brand-name drugs commonly prescribed to seniors: 53.6

Percentage rate of general inflation during this period: 20.1

Percentage of Americans who support the idea of Congress allowing the federal government to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices on Medicare prescription drugs: 80

Estimated amount taxpayers and Medicare beneficiaries would save in 2008 alone if the federal government negotiated drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies: $30 billion

Lowest Medicare Part D price in 2006 for a year of treatment with Zocor, a popular drug for patients with high cholesterol: $1,485.96

Lowest VA price in 2006 for a year of treatment with Zocor: $127.44

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle Class Supports: Often living on fixed incomes, America’s seniors struggle to cope with prescription drug prices that increase every year. The new Medicare prescription drug plan was ostensibly designed to save these seniors money on needed medications. But the plan provides far less savings than it could – both for the seniors it covers and for the taxpayers who bear the costs of the new plan – because it fails to take advantage of the federal government’s ability to negotiate for better prices by buying drugs in bulk. For example, if the federal government were to buy a million pills of cholesterol-lowering medication, enough for every Medicare recipient in the country, they could receive a very low price because of the huge quantity. Instead of realizing these savings, the program relies on individual insurance plans to make drug purchases. Because none of these individual insurers has the purchasing power of the federal government, the result is a less efficient system with higher prices.

Most industrialized countries, including Canada, use the government’s bulk purchasing power to bargain for better drug prices. Domestically, the United States Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) also uses this common-sense practice to reduce its costs. Studies suggest that the prices negotiated by the VA for many drugs are substantially lower than those offered under the new Medicare plan. Middle-class Americans, whether they are senior citizens, taxpayers or both, cannot afford to see the federal government squander this opportunity to rein in the ever-escalating costs of prescription drugs.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Medicare: Prescription Drugs,” from Families USA

National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices

“Celebrating Pork: The Dubious Success of the Medicare Drug Benefit,” by Dean Baker from the Center for Economic Policy Research

“Price Negotiation Would Dramatically Lower the Cost of Prescription Drugs for Medicare Beneficiaries,” from the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare

Health Care

Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Amendment to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2008

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Protecting the Medicaid Safety Net Act of 2008

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2008

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 [Revised bill]

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

United States National Health Insurance Act of 2007