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Seniors 'Socked' by Medicare Increase

On September 29, seniors rallied in Washington, D.C., across the street from the White House, to protest the policies of President George W. Bush on Social Security, Medicare and prescription drugs. Emphasis was placed on the recent news that Medicare's Part B premium would experience a record 17.5 percent increase in January, going to $78.20 per month.

BUSLOADS IN D.C. The rally, sponsored by the Alliance for Retired Americans, drew hundreds of seniors from such states as Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Delaware and North Carolina. The crowd included busloads of AFSCME retiree members from Retiree Chapters 1, 2, 13, 37, 47 and 1199C.

Speakers included U. S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), one of the leading Senate advocates for lower drug prices, and U. S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, one of the sponsors of H.R. 3767 — a bill to let Medicare negotiate prices with the drug companies. Other speakers included Alliance Exec. Dir. Ed Coyle, AFL-CIO Sec.-Treas. Richard Trumpka and Marty Berger, President of the Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans.

SOCKED BY BUSH. The slogan of the day was "Bush Socks it to Seniors," illustrated by the white athletic socks that participants waived in the air every time a speaker mentioned a particularly harmful policy backed by the Bush Administration. The speakers all hit on a similar theme: the President cares more about drug and insurance companies than senior citizens.

In addition to the problems in the President's Medicare law (particularly the gaps in drug coverage, failure to contain drugs costs, risk to employer-provided retiree health plans and measures that push Medicare toward privatization) and his plan to carve out private investment accounts from Social Security, the seniors blamed Bush for the upcoming rise in Medicare premiums. Part of the increase can be attributed to higher reimbursement payments to HMOs, a feature of the 2003 law.

According to a recent report by the Medicare Rights Center, Medicare premium increases will eat up a bigger and bigger portion of Social Security benefits if allowed to continue at this pace. It estimates that 44 percent of a typical 65-year old's benefit check will be devoted to Medicare premiums in 2015. For an 85-year old, the premiums will devour half the check.

PRECIOUS BENEFITS. Before and after the rally, television and newspaper reporters mixed with the crowd to try to get personal reactions to the Bush policies. AFSCME retiree leader Adele Butler, President of Philadelphia Retiree Chapter 1199C, told them she depends on her Social Security and Medicare benefits and believes Pres. Bush doesn't fully understand what these programs mean to average seniors.

"Most of us don't have big investments," she said. "I'm more fortunate than most because I have a pension. So, even the smallest increase in health costs or the smallest cut to Social Security can push a lot of us over the edge. That's the reality. But I'm afraid the President just doesn't get it."

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