SCOTUS Ruling on Corporate Campaign Donations Due Any Day

FROM: Common Cause

We may be just a week away from a Supreme Court decision that could shake the foundation of our democracy, and pave the way for corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts on the direct election or defeat of federal candidates.

That's because the Supreme Court could rule as soon as November 3 on the Citizens United case – which began as a narrow fight over funding for a political documentary, but has morphed into a case calling into question a century of campaign finance law. If the long-standing ban on corporate political spending is thrown out, it could unleash a flood of money into the political system. Precisely how much is hard to say, but according to new Common Cause analysis:

* If corporations and unions spend on political ads what they spend now on lobbying, they would be spending four times as much -- $6 billion -- as the $1.5 billion that all congressional candidates spent in the last election.

* The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently launched a $150 million advertising campaign to support a specific version of the health care reform legislation. That is one trade association on one bill -- imagine the implications for federal elections.

* In the 2008 elections, the winning candidates for the House of Representatives spent an average of $1.4 million on his or her campaign, roughly equivalent to what the health care industry spent daily on lobbying during the first six months of 2009.

We have a three-point plan that we will launch as soon as the Citizens United decision is handed down. Common Cause will work to minimize the impact of a bad ruling, prevent Congress from taking counter-productive actions (like increasing contribution limits) and enact an alternative system that allows congressional candidates to run vigorous campaigns without relying on money from big special interests. Without immediate action, ordinary citizens' voices could be drowned out by corporate spending on elections.

Age 55-64 The Bridge Years > Now There's Help!

Building the Bridge to Secure Health Care

The nation needs health care reform — and, thanks to strong leadership and a lot of hard work by the Administration and Congress — a great deal of progress has already been made.

As the legislative process continues, Congress should remember the 33 million Americans in their "Bridge Years"(between ages 55–64) who are moving from full employment towards what they hope will be a secure retirement. They are workers; they are small business owners; they are parents; they care for their own elderly parents.

If these Americans lose their jobs, they will find it hard to obtain adequate health care coverage. Medicare is, of course, not available — they are "too young." But private insurers view them as "old" and higher risk — resulting in significantly higher premiums and, for many, denial of coverage altogether.

So we have come together — representing tens of millions of America’s workers in all 50 states; as well as manufacturers, large and small businesses, faith groups, non-profits, and more.

We ask Congress to combine the best elements of the Senate Finance, HELP committee and the House Tri-Committee bills to enact real health care reform. Particularly, we urge Congress to adopt fair age rating, create a fully funded reinsurance program, and continue to protect Medicare D reimbursement.

Together, we can ensure Americans in their Bridge Years have permanent access to quality, affordable health care coverage that is not contingent on age, health, or employment status.

AFL-CIO
Alliance for Retired Americans
Communications Workers of America
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
National Coalition on Health Care
National Consumers League
Small Business Majority
U.S. PIRG
United Parcel Service
Verizon Communications

To read the full text of our letter to Congress, along with data on the health care challenges faced by Americans in their Bridge Years, go to BridgeYears Health Coalition

Democratic Candidate Hank Gilbert on Reid's Public Option Announcement

TYLER-Hank Gilbert (D-Whitehouse), a candidate Texas Governor, issued the following statement regarding the announcement by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that the Senate would go forward with healthcare reform legislation which includes a public option:

"Contrary to the rightwing noise-boxes that manage to get themselves on television and radio in Texas, Texans overwhelmingly favor legislation which would include a public option.

The Senate's bill contains provisions which will allow states to "opt out" of the public option. What this means for Texas largely depends upon who the governor is and the make up of the Texas Legislature after the plan passes. If we have Rick Perry, Kay Bailey Hutchison, or any of my other opponents, it will be nothing more than remaining at the status quo for us.

I favor the public option. Due to monopolies in many states and other non-competitive practices, there is no other realistic way to force the insurance companies to actually increase efficiency. There is no other way to make sure that everyone has access to affordable coverage which must be a key in any plan to unburden local and state governments from having to pay for indigent care."

TEXANS CAN'T AFFORD THE STATUS QUO

• Roughly 12 million people in Texas get health insurance on the job¹, where family premiums average $13,525, about the annual earning of a full-time minimum wage job.²
• Since 2000 alone, average family premiums have increased by 104 percent in Texas.³
• Household budgets are strained by high costs: 17 percent of middle-income Texas families spend more than 10 percent of their income on health care. ⁴
• High costs block access to care: 20 percent of people in Texas report not visiting a doctor due to high costs. ⁵
• Texas businesses and families shoulder a hidden health tax of roughly $1,800 per year on premiums as a direct result of subsidizing the costs of the uninsured. ⁶

AFFORDABLE HEALTH COVERAGE IS INCREASINGLY OUT OF REACH IN TEXAS

• 25 percent of people in Texas are uninsured, and 75 percent of them are in families with at least one full-time worker. ⁷
• The percent of Texans with employer coverage is declining: from 57 to 50 percent between 2000 and 2007. ⁸
• Much of the decline is among workers in small businesses. While small businesses make up 70 percent of Texas businesses,9 only 32 percent of them offered health coverage benefits in 2006 -- down 5 percent since 2000. ⁹
• Choice of health insurance is limited in Texas. HCSC (Blue Cross Blue Shield ) alone constitutes 39 percent of the health insurance market share in Texas, with the top two insurance providers accounting for 59 percent. ¹⁰
• Choice is even more limited for people with pre-existing conditions. In Texas, premiums can vary based on demographic factors and health status, and coverage can exclude pre-existing conditions or even be denied completely. ¹¹

TEXANS NEED HIGHER QUALITY, GREATER VALUE, AND MORE PREVENTATIVE CARE

• The overall quality of care in Texas is rated as "Weak." ¹²
  Preventative measures that could keep Texans healthier and out of the hospital are deficient, leading to problems across the age spectrum:
  
  • 20 percent of children in Texas are obese. ¹³
  • 25 percent of women over the age of 50 in Texas have not received a mammogram in the past two years.
  • 44 percent of men over the age of 50 in Texas have never had a colorectal cancer screening.
  • 66 percent of adults over the age of 65 in Texas have received a flu vaccine in the past year. ¹⁴

The need for reform in Texas and across the country is clear. Texas families simply can't afford the status quo and deserve better. President Obama is committed to working with Congress to pass health reform this year that reduces costs for families, businesses and government; protects people's choice of doctors, hospitals and health plans; and assures affordable, quality health care for all Americans.

(This information is taken from the U.S. DHS's website HealthReform.gov.)

ENDNOTES:

1 U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey. HIA-4 Health Insurance Coverage Status and Type of Coverage by State--All Persons: 1999 to 2007, 2007.
2 Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey - Insurance Component, 2006, Table X.D.
Projected 2009 premiums based on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, "National Health Expenditure Data," available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/nationalhealthexpenddata/.
3 Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey - Insurance Component, 2000, Table II.D.1.
Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey - Insurance Component, 2006, Table X.D.
Projected 2009 premiums based on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, "National Health Expenditure Data," available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/nationalhealthexpenddata/.
4 Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2006.
5 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey Data. Atlanta, Georgia: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007.
6 Furnas, B., Harbage, P. (2009). "The Cost Shift from the Uninsured." Center for American Progress.
7 U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey. Annual Social and Economic Supplements, March 2007 and 2008.
8 U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey. HIA-4 Health Insurance Coverage Status and Type of Coverage by State--All Persons: 1999 to 2007, 2007.
9 Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey - Insurance Component, 2006, Table II.A.1a.
10 Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey - Insurance Component, 2001, 2006, Table II.A.2.
11 Health Care for America Now. (2009). "Premiums Soaring in Consolidated Health Insurance Market." Health Care for America Now.
12 Agency for Health Care Research and Quality. 2007 State Snapshots. Available http://statesnapshots.ahrq.gov/snaps07/index.jsp.
13 Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative. 2007 National Survey of Children's Health, Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health.
14 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey Data. Atlanta, Georgia: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007.

Older? Live in the country or a small town? Too bad!

Bad news for rural & small town seniors;

The Senate voted 47-53 against invoking cloture on a Medicare doctors' reimbursement bill on Wednesday, falling 13 votes short of stopping a filibuster.

The bill, S. 1776, would have fixed a formula in Medicare that currently would have doctors' reimbursements cut 21% in 2010 and another 5% in years beyond 2010. All Republicans voted against the bill, as well as the following 13 Democrats: Evan Bayh (IN), Robert Byrd (WV), Kent Conrad (ND), Byron Dorgan (ND), Russ Feingold (WI), Herb Kohl(WI), Joe Lieberman (CT), Claire McCaskill (MO), Bill Nelson(FL), Jon Tester (MT), Mark Warner (VA), Jim Webb (VA), and Ron Wyden (OR).

Congress for the last several years has stopped the cuts in a piecemeal fashion - often one year or 18 months at a time, and S. 1776 would have permanently fixed the problem. It is likely that the Senate will now go back and again do a one-year fix. Opponents wanted the bill "paid for" in budget terms, although this Congress had passed a resolution earlier this year exempting this and other crucial issues, like war funding, from the normal budget process.

"Seniors need certainty and security to know that their doctor will always be there for them. This bill would have given seniors on Medicare the security they need," said Barbara J. Easterling, President of the Alliance for Retired Americans. The bill was especially important in smaller communities and rural areas, where there are fewer patients and where seniors need to make sure that there are enough doctors to treat them.

This issue deserves a permanent fix. Rural areas and small towns already have a difficult time recruiting family-practice physicians and since the populations of these areas are top heavy with older Americans who rely on Medicare for their health care, it is patently obvious that until a permanent fix is in place these people will see a decline, if not an exodus, of family practise physicians.

HUMANA! STOP WITH YOUR DAMNED LIES!

Insurance Companies Should Stop Scaring Seniors

As I travel about and speak to various organizations, groups and individuals, I find that many older people are scared and confused, fearful of the change that health care reform may bring.

But this isn’t because they are bad people. They are scared and confused because the big insurance companies are spreading myths and falsehoods to frighten seniors into opposing health care reform. Halloween may be just around the corner, but Texas seniors should demand an end to these scare tactics.

What we are seeing is the 11th hour desperation of an industry that knows momentum is growing to pass a health care bill. While the final legislation is still being written, a political consensus is building to rein in these big corporations who profit by denying medical care and discriminating against those who need help the most.

A few weeks ago Humana sent out mailings to seniors across the country, falsely ringing alarm bells about how retirees would be hurt by health reform. These shameful letters drew rebukes from both federal regulators and the Connecticut Attorney General. What Humana conveniently ignored was how it receives millions in taxpayer subsidies – on average $3.60 per month from every senior – to operate Medicare Advantage programs at a cost nearly 20 percent higher than if Medicare directly provided these same services.

These deceptive mailings were followed by a Washington lobby group, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), launching a multi-million dollar television ad campaign [mention here if they are running in your state] to once again mislead seniors about health reform. Curiously missing in AHIP’s slick 30-second spots is any mention of how insurance premiums have risen four times faster than wages over the past decade. The reality is that the only thing at risk in health reform is the outrageous profits these companies are making at our expense.

Here is the truth that Texas seniors need to know: this year we finally have an opportunity to close the Medicare Part D doughnut hole, lower prescription drug costs, help early retirees afford health care coverage, and assist middle-class families with the costs of long-term care. Retirees have much to gain from health care reform.

But older people care about more than just themselves. We worry about our children and grandchildren in these tough economic times. What would happen if they lost their job? Would they be able to afford health insurance, particularly with the sky-high premiums and the prejudice against people with even minor health problems?

It is time to end the scare tactics. Americans deserve the truth – health care reform will help Americans of all ages. It is time for Congress to finish the job.