The Legislative and Political Action Department: seated, from left, Clerk Typists Kim Shepherd and Janice Schofield. Standing, from left, Legislative Representative Hasan Solomon; Clerk Typist Jackie True; Assistant Director of Political Action Rick de la Fuente; Confidential Secretary Pattie Lewis, Legislative and Political Action Director Richard Michalski; Secretaries Janet Salik and Elizabeth Farlow; and Assistant Legislative Director Tom Trotter (Office Assistant Peggy Payne not in photo).

Legislative — 2

ISSUES IN THE 107TH & 108TH CONGRESS

Family Issues
Health Care Reform/Medicare
The IAM has fought for health care reform for many years.We fought hard to make sure that any health care proposal contained our major principles: 1) universal coverage and security, 2) comprehensive benefits, 3) affordable and fair pricing, 4) high quality (including doctor choice), and 4) public accountability for workers, the insured, and consumers.

During the 108th Congress, Republicans began their attack on these principles by dismantling Medicare, the nation’s health care program for seniors and the disabled, under the cover of a Medicare prescription drug bill that threatens millions of retiree’s existing drug benefits, gives billions of dollars to pharmaceutical companies and private insurers and forces 32.5 million retirees to pay more for Medicare while doing nothing to control drug prices.

The revision of Medicare, signed into law last December by President Bush, allows Medicare recipients to purchase one of 76 prescription drug discount cards that the Department of Health and Human Services alleges will provide savings of 10 to 25 percent until 2005. However, there is no guarenteed discounts and some drug costs have gone up 28 percent since this bill was signed.

Under the new plan, seniors can stay in Medicare or switch to a for-profit HMO and all the baggage that entails. Seniors who opt for Medicare will be charged a $250 deductible and 25 percent of drug costs up to $2,250. After this amount,Medicare will pay nothing until the senior spends an additional $2,850 out of his own pocket.

Beneficiaries currently pay 25 percent of Medicare Part B, which covers outpatient care and doctor visits. This amount will increase for individuals with incomes greater than $80,000 on a sliding scale. The amount will top out at 80 percent for people with incomes over $200,000.

The annual deductible for outpatient care, which has been fixed at $100 for years, will rise to $110 in 2005 and increase annually after that.

Although the process that produced the HR-1 Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act was egregious in many respects, none was more egregious than tactics that President Bush and Majority Leader DeLay (R-Texas) used to pass this legislation. Twisting arms and persuading House members to change votes already cast, Bush and Majority Leader Delay manipulated House approval of a prescription drug bill that would not meet seniors’ needs but will bar government from negotiating lower drug prices. It was the longest House vote ever held—three hours—with DeLay prepared to gavel it to an end the second he had the votes he needed. DeLay’s actions resulted in a reversal of a defeat of 218-216 to a win of 220-215, the Senate broke a filibuster with defecting Democrats and the bill passed with a 54-44 vote. Bush and Delay maneuvered a huge corporate handout at the expense of retirees and working families.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (DSD) and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), who led the unsuccessful filibuster—have called the new law a monstrous giveaway to insurers and drug companies. They also charged that it was a “Trojan horse” aimed at crippling Medicare’s universal benefits in order to foster go-it-alone competition. Sen. Kennedy and Rep. John Dingel (DMI) introduced companion bills to repeal numerous contentious provisions in the law. Among their top targets is the privatization provisions in the law. Kennedy and Dingell also want to repeal the health savings accounts provisions that allows wealthy individuals to shelter income from taxes. In addition, Sen. Daschle has launched an effort to eliminate the ban on the federal government being able to directly negotiate drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries.