June 2008

 

An Information Service of the

Maine Council of Senior Citizens –
Alliance for Retired Americans
 

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USING THE INTERNET – FOR SENIORS
From SeniorJournal.com

New Picture Books Helping Seniors Learn to Use the Computer

Available for free pdf downloads during introduction

May 2, 2006 – Senior citizens learning to use the computer or new software, are giving good reviews to the new In Pictures, a new brand of computer how-to books, which was launched today. The books are based on pictures rather than text. Most computer books contain 50,000-100,000 words, but In Pictures books contain only 5000 or so, or one-tenth as many words. For a limited time, In Pictures books can be downloaded for free, according to the Website. Read more...

Great for Seniors: Website Sends Email Reminders of Medical Tests

Cholesterol testing on top of list of six email alerts that are available

March 2, 2006 – It could be just what the doctor ordered for a senior citizen or their caregiver – a Website that will automatically send a reminder to have a cholesterol test. Actually, this service by the College of American Pathologists will email reminders on four other types of health testing and to donate blood. Read more...includes more free email reminder services.

Google Makes No-Cost Online Medical Records Service Available to Public

Allows users to store medical records and laboratory test results

May 20, 2008 - Google on Monday opened public access to Google Health, an online personal health record service, after about 18 months of development, the New York Times reports (Lohr, New York Times, 5/20). The move comes after Google in February announced a pilot program to test the system that involved about 10,000 patients at the Cleveland Clinic (San Francisco Chronicle, 5/20). Read more...

iGuard Drug Safety Alert is Newest Reason Senior Citizens, Caregivers Must Use Web

Provides patients & physicians with immediate, personalized, free drug safety information

Oct. 9, 2007 – Almost weekly there is a new and compelling reason why senior citizens or their caregivers should be active on the Internet. One significant new tool to launch on the Web, which promises potentially life-saving help to seniors, is iGuard. This is a free service to access current information about the risk profile of their medications and receive personal drug safety alerts. Read more...

FROM THE DESK OF THE MCSC/ARA PRESIDENT
John Carr

Recently we started work on a “Senior Bill of Rights.” The purpose is be able to tell seniors what the Maine Council of Senior Citizens/ARA supports and is working for in a variety of policy areas. We feel this is particularly important to move ahead on and complete in the near future since this is an election year. It will also enable us to more effectively question candidates at local, state and federal levels to help determine whom we will support.

A draft of the Senior Bill of Rights is attached to this newsletter. I would ask that you read it and make any suggestions for additions or changes. Remember you are welcome to attend our regular meetings on the third Tuesday of each month. (See Above) for time, place, date.

In preparation for this and other Maine Council of Senior Citizens/ARA actions we met with Dani Pere, ARA Director of Field Mobilization. As part of our communications effort with seniors we are working on creating a series of video clips about senior issues and events to include (when possible) with our monthly Maine Senior Report.

If you click HERE or on my picture above there is a short (five minute) video from Yahoo introducing Dani Pere and some comments from her about the value of creating a Senior Bill of Rights and also about some of the current issues and actions in Washington that affect seniors.

You may have to bear with us for a few issues to get our video technique down pat. (1) You may have to load some software to view videos – usually this is available and offered free when you try and view a video without the needed software (2) recording volume was low so you may have to turn up the volume on your speakers/computer (3) we shot this impromptu and will aim at better lighting in the future.

 

However, clips like this (in contrast to clips controlled by the news media) remain on file as long as we wish and can be shared at any time with other seniors and/or organizations. You only need to send an e-mail to other seniors or friends and enclose this video link:

 

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/2815128/8180281

 

Also at the May meeting of the Maine AFL-CIO E-Board I was sworn in as a member representing retirees to replace Robert Galloupe who resigned due to health reasons.

I attended the June 13-14 Maine AFL-CIO COPE Convention in South Portland and participated in making recommendations for labor’s endorsement of legislative and congressional candidates.

 

Congressman Tom Allen, who is running for one of the two Maine seats in the U.S. Senate, and Congressman Mike Michaud, who is running for reelection, had been previously endorsed at the Maine AFL-CIO state convention last fall. Chellie Pingree who won the Democratic nomination to the First District congressional seat in the Democratic primary election June 10, received an enthusiastic endorsement.

From 7 to 9 p.m. the convention formally convened and held a reception for friends of labor. Delegates heard from Congressmen Allen and Michaud and Democratic congressional candidate Pingree. State Senator Libby Mitchell, Maine Senate Majority Leader, and Representative Hanna Pingree, Maine House Majority Leader, spoke to delegates about the importance of the coming election.
 

Chellie, who has a long and strong record of fighting for legislation of importance to Maine workers and working families covered many of the same points that she did in her recent speech to the Maine Democratic Convention. CLICK PICTURE OF CHELLIE ABOVE TO HEAR THIS SPEECH

 

Tom Allen sees this election as a “great challenge” to repair the disastrous failures of the Bush Administration. He outlined the challenges and the upcoming campaign for the U.S. Senate.

On other business, opponents of new state beverage taxes don't know yet whether they have enough support to submit their repeal effort to Maine voters on Nov. 4, but already an intense campaign is under way to sway voters. The early start pits a political action committee called Fed Up With Taxes against Health Coverage for Maine, an advocacy group that supports the recently approved taxes on beer, wine and soda because the money would go to the Dirigo Health program. Supporters of the taxes have mounted a campaign of their own to discourage voters from signing the veto petitions.

As you know Maine Council of Senior Citizens/ARA has always been a strong supporter of better health care for Mainers including senior citizens and we believe that Dirigo Health deserves and needs this money to keep giving low cost health care options to Maine. The state needs the revenue from the taxes to continue Dirigo Health, which includes the DirigoChoice insurance program. In many previous issues we have featured the services offered to seniors by DirigoChoice. The deadline for submitting signatures to put the issue on the November ballot is July 17.

Maine Equal Justice Partners explains the situation this way:

Soda and beer companies are gathering signatures throughout Maine to overturn our reasonable pennies-per-drink charge that will provide Maine kids, hard working adults and families with affordable health care coverage

 In these tough economic times, affordable health care coverage can mean life or death. A few extra pennies on beer, wine, and soda is a reasonable solution that will allow 18,000 Maine kids and hard-working adults to keep their health care coverage.

The beverage companies are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars hiring an out-of-state signature-gathering firm whose efforts put at risk health care coverage for Maine kids and hard-working adults. Their petition would repeal the funding for this health care coverage.

Ask everyone you know to tell the beverage companies, "no thanks, I support health care coverage for Maine's children and families".

Isn't health care coverage for Maine's children and families worth these few additional pennies:

Less than 3¢ for a can of beer (and even then only for big out of state brewers- Maine brewers are exempt),

Less than 4¢ for a can of soda and

Only 7¢ on an entire bottle of wine.

Attached is a petition monitoring form that was designed by Maine Equal Justice Partners and has been approved by the Secretary of State as a way for people to report any improper signature collecting from folks on the "People's Veto" effort.  Please pass on to anyone who may be interested in filling out the form.  Instructions and clarifications as to what is considered "improper" are also included. 

Finally, I would warn seniors that:

Yesterday I received an email supposedly from a friend of mine that lives in Florida. The email claimed my friend was in London England, had lost her wallet and ID's and needed money to pay her hotel bill and get home. The email was a scam, my friend's email was stolen and used by someone to get money using my friends identity. My friend has been aware of this incident and called the police and FBI for help. She has had to change her email.

According to local police this scam is growing. Another way is an email claiming a relative is stuck in Canada without money and needs money sent as soon as possible. The Canadian scam has been successful with a lot of money being sent to a Canadian address via Western Union that can be picked up anywhere.

Seniors should beware and let others as well know of these scams that are happening. If they receive an email that looks suspicious call the local police so it can be recorded and they can let others know of these scams. 

John Carr

MCSC-ARA

 

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MEDICARE BILL THAT WOULD HAVE HELPED
 SENIORS FAILS TO GAIN ENOUGH SUPPORT

    On Thursday, the U.S. Senate did not reach the 60 votes needed for cloture on S. 3101, the “Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008.”  The vote was 54-39 in favor of the bill, but 60 votes were needed to prevent a filibuster from blocking the legislation.
  Called the Baucus-Snowe bill, the legislation would have made sure that doctors who see Medicare patients are paid adequately, so that they would continue to take patients covered by Medicare.  In addition, the bill would have improved the Medicare program for low-income seniors and stopped the abusive marketing techniques of private Medicare Advantage plans by requiring them to report on quality care measures.

  For a tabulation of the vote, go to http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00149  . 

Nine Republicans voted to consider the bill -- Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Lisa Murkowsi and Ted Stevens of Alaska, Pat Roberts of Kansas, Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, Gordon Smith of Oregon, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Norm Coleman of Minnesota.

 The failed cloture vote will send the "issue back for further negotiations between Republicans and Democrats," and the "eventual upshot is likely to be a more narrowly crafted bill than the one introduced" by Baucus, the Wall Street Journal reports.  

However, "some aspects of the Grassley and Baucus bills are common and are likely to survive in the Senate's final version," the Journal reports.  

One such provision is a measure that would provide incentives for physicians to adopt electronic prescribing. According to the Journal, "[I]t isn't clear whether Congress will make the deadline" to delay the reduction in Medicare physician reimbursements or "attempt to restore the higher fee levels retroactively" (Wall Street Journal, 6/13).

Some 600,000 doctors care for Medicare patients. Payments rates are set to drop by 10.6 percent on July 1 as a result of a formula that calls for cuts when spending exceeds established goals.

The payments targeted for cuts are intended to account for the higher cost of care associated with teaching hospitals. In theory, insurers use the extra payments to pay those hospitals more. Some lawmakers have said the payments are duplicative. 

Democrats also sought to force certain insurers to form networks with health care providers in the communities they serve. Such networks help providers coordinate patient care and, in theory, do away with duplicative treatments or conflicting prescriptions. 

Both provisions would have saved an estimated $12.5 billion over five years, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.

The advocacy group AARP had lobbied in support of Baucus' bill and reminded them they would report the results to their members. 

"The bill blocked today would have improved the program's low-income, preventive and mental health benefits without drastic increases in Medicare premiums," said the group's chief executive, Bill Novelli. 

SEN. MCCAIN TRIES TO RUN FROM
HIS RECORD ON SOCIAL SECURITY

    In a press release on Friday, the Alliance called upon Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to clarify his position on Social Security privatization, in the wake of inconsistent statements and votes on the subject.

    In response to a town hall question posed by New Hampshire Alliance President John Mendolusky, Senator McCain said, "I am not for quote 'privatization of Social Security.'  I never have been, never will be.”  The Nashua Telegraph reported his response.

   In a March 3 interview with The Wall Street Journal, however, Sen. McCain had said, “As part of Social Security reform, I believe that private savings accounts are a part of it -- along the lines that President Bush proposed."        

  The same article said that Sen. McCain is considering raising the Social Security retirement age to 68 and reducing the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).  In 2006 he had voted to shift Social Security’s annual surpluses into a reserve account that would be converted into private accounts.
  Earlier in his Senate career, Sen. McCain voted twice to replace Social Security’s guaranteed benefits with income from risk-based private investments.  “Senator McCain always has been and always will be a privatizer,” said Edward Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance. 

SEN. OBAMA SPEAKS ON
THE ECONOMY, SOCIAL SECURITY

    In a speech on the economy in Raleigh, North Carolina on Monday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) reiterated his plan to protect Social Security without using privatization and without raising the retirement age.  Sen. Obama said that he would save Social Security for future generations by asking the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share of taxes.  According to The Wall Street Journal, Sen. Obama has a plan to ensure that the majority of middle-income earners do not see their payroll taxes increased.

Tell Senator John McCain:

HANDS OFF OUR SOCIAL SECURITY!

·  John McCain has a history of wanting to privatize Social Security.

·  Social Security has been a bedrock of our society since 1935. Millions

of seniors depend on it for food, shelter, and medicine.

·  Without Social Security, half of all American seniors would live in

poverty.

·  In 2005, President Bush tried to gamble our Social Security on the stock

market, turning seniors’ risk into Wall Street’s reward.

·  The American people wouldn’t stand for Bush’s reckless plan to privatize

Social Security, but now John McCain wants to resurrect it.

·  If we privatize Social Security, the average retiree will lose $134,000

in benefits during 20 years of retirement.

·  Privatization means a 30-50% cut in benefits, and a windfall for Wall

Street.

·  John McCain’s record on this issue is clear: He voted to privatize in

2006, and he wants to take that plan national in 2008. If John McCain

has his way, Wall Street CEOs will get richer while seniors lose

everything.

It’s time to give John McCain some

“straight talk” of his own:

America’s Seniors Can’t Afford the Bush-

McCain Privatization Plan.

Edward Coyle, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, says McCain needs to tell us the truth about what his plans would mean for current, and future, retirees.

 

Appearing on Live with Regis and Kelly, Senator McCain tried to hide the truth: he wants to throw our hard-earned Social Security benefits onto the roulette wheel of the stock market. For the bankers on Wall Street, this would mean big reward as they skim service fees and profits off these private accounts. For seniors already struggling with rising gas and grocery prices, it would mean even more risk and uncertainty in these difficult times.

Not only did Senator McCain support privatized Social Security in a March 3 interview with the Wall Street Journal, but in 2006 he voted to shift Social Security’s annual surpluses into a reserve account that would be converted into private accounts. Earlier in his Senate career, McCain voted twice to replace Social Security’s guaranteed benefits with income from risk-based private investments.  

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Editor’s Note: We are working to expand our mailing list and encourage forwarding this news report to others. You can remove your name/address from our list by sending name and “newsletter delete” to the Maine Council of Senior Citizens –  send an e-mail to MCSC Director Neena Quirion at MCSCARA@MSEASEIU.ORG

Ed Schlick

Editor