Senior Power

WASHINGTON, D.C.

AFSCME retirees and hundreds of other seniors, joined dozens of law–makers at a recent Capitol Hill rally to urge President Bush to extend the May 15 enrollment deadline for Medicare's confusing new Part D prescription-drug program. Seniors who missed the cut-off date have to wait months for the next sign-up period and face hefty penalties that will permanently raise their premium costs.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who called for a six-month extension, said Congress must replace "this misguided and confusing Republican plan with one that is clear, fair and puts seniors, not the pharmaceutical companies, first."

Among the AFSCME participants at the rally was Ida Williams Ward, president of Maryland Retiree Chapter 1. "Part D has a lot of problems," she explains. "The biggest is not letting Medicare bargain for lower drug prices. Things like that need to be fixed. First though, we've got to get rid of that penalty deadline. Having to look at 40 plans to find the right one is penalty enough."

The rally was organized by Americans United, a coalition of labor, civil rights and senior citizens groups.