DID YOU MISS THIS IMPORTANT NEWS?

ANNOUNCEMENT-  August 2008 After carefully reading the positions on Senior issues put forward by Mr. Obama, and Mr. McCain, SeniorArk.com is about to endorse a candidate. We are mostly concerned about their statements on Social Security and Medicare, but also on energy and national security. Remember, the purpose of this site is advocacy for the needs of Seniors. Our plan is to endorse Barack Obama before August ends. But we are willing to be swayed -- or bolstered, in our opinion. Please email your comments to PresOpinion@aol.com. We will publish your comments, unless you request otherwise, if they are constructive to the discussion of Senior concerns in the election. This may well be the most important election Seniors have seen in a generation.  Please give us your opinion.   Reader Opinions

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RICHARD VIGUERIE:  BUSH WHITE HOUSE HIDES TRUE SCOPE OF FEDERAL DEFICIT

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NEW STUDY EXAMINES IMPACT OF DOUGHNUT HOLE IN 2007
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August 22, 2008   A new report by the Kaiser Family Foundation quantifies the number of Medicare Part D plan enrollees who reached the "doughnut hole," the gap in their prescription drug coverage, in 2007. The study of Part D prescription drug utilization found that 26% of Part D enrollees who filled any prescriptions in 2007 reached the gap. This includes 22% who stayed in the gap for the remainder of the year, and 4% who ultimately received catastrophic coverage. Applying this estimate to the entire population of Part D enrollees, the analysis suggests that about 3.4 million beneficiaries, or 14% of all Part D enrollees, reached the coverage gap and faced the full cost of their prescriptions in 2007. Conducted by researchers at Georgetown University, the University of Chicago and Kaiser, the study found evidence of patients changing their use of prescription drugs when they were in the coverage gap. Across eight classes of drugs examined, 15% of Part D enrollees who reached the gap stopped their drug therapy for that condition, 5% switched to another medication in the class, and 1% reduced the number of drugs they were taking in the class. The standard Part D benefit in 2008 has a $275 deductible and 25% coinsurance, up to an initial coverage limit of $2,510 in total drug costs, followed by a coverage gap where enrollees pay all of the next $3,216 in drug costs. After reaching that limit, beneficiaries pay 5% of any additional drug costs. For 2007, these amounts were slightly lower. The study also found that people who reached the gap paid
the full cost of their medications, without any help from their Part D plan, for an average of just over four months, and received catastrophic coverage for less than one month. The study analyzed retail pharmacy claims data, based on 4.5 million Medicare beneficiaries in Part D plans in 2007, the first year that most people were enrolled in a Part D plan for a full calendar year. The report, The Medicare Part D Coverage Gap: Costs and Consequences in 2007, is available online at http://www.kff.org/medicare/7811.cfm.  If Medicare were able to use its negotiating power to strike a better deal with drug companies, not nearly as many people would be in the doughnut hole. Also Read Surviving the Doughnut Hole  and  Does Part "D" Make Sense for Me?

RETIREES MAY SEE A HUGE INCREASE IN BENEFITS

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WORKER PENSIONS RAIDED FOR EXECUTIVE BENEFITS

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August 8, 2008 Just when you thought the greed and outrageous behavior of corporate America could get no worse, the leaders of companies have sunk to a new low: they are using workers' pension money to fund CEO pension. No this is not a joke. An August 3, 2008, Wall Street Journal article states:

DID YOU KNOW...
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August 8, 2008  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, La Paz County, Arizona is the county that has the nation's oldest population, with 32% of its residents 65 years of age or older (USA Today). The county is located on the California border and is home to the Colorado River Indian Reservation. Florida is the state with the largest over-65 population; 2,808,000, or 17.6% of its residents. 

WHAT IS WITH THE OIL PRICES?  BE VERY SUSPICIOUS.

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August 8, 2008  We are happy, but very suspicious, of the dramatic drop in oil prices over the past two weeks. The world is still growing. Americans, though more cautious about their driving, show little interest in packing in the car(s). Our refineries are still limited in their ability to increase production. There is fear that Israel may make a preemptive strike on the nuclear efforts of Iran, thus throwing the oil supply into a pit. Earlier this week, a tropical storm formed in the Gulf of Mexico oil fields, and oil production platforms were evacuated for fear of severe damage. Today the Russians have attacked the rebels in Georgia, threatening major oil supply lines. A month ago, any of these events, or fear of them, would have sent the price of oil into the stratosphere.  And yet now, at the close of business on August 8, 2008, oil is down over $30 a barrel from its high of just a couple weeks ago.

So what is going on? Why is oil dropping in the face of these realities? Indeed, this is a very complicated issue. There may be multiple reasons. But even a commentator on CNBC said on August 4, "It is very curious."

This I do know. We are approaching an election that could affect the oil industry to the tune of MANY BILLIONS, OR TRILLIONS of $$$. Obama is talking about windfall oil profits taxes to benefit the American people in the form of a $1,000 per family energy rebate. He has also proposed a Kennedy-like program on alternative energy similar to the man-on-the moon effort. These are not messages the oil industry wants to hear. It is SeniorArk's suspicion that the oil companies are capable of manipulating prices now, to save vastly more money in the future. This could be a thinly-veiled effort to influence the election, so they can remain unfettered in their pursuit of record profits. You know it is possible. If you look back at the record, it DID happen just before the 2006 elections. But, is it so? We wonder, and have suspicions.

Robert Fassbach, Editor, www.SeniorArk.com    email: seniorark@aol.com 

Reader, C. Chapman adds to above: "Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see"

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AUGUST 1, 2008  Seniors are especially at risk in high heat situations. Large stretches of the USA are experiencing extreme temperatures at the moment. Caregivers need to check on the elderly. If you live in another city, call the police department, or someone you know, to check on your loved one. Check on your friends and neighbors, and don't automatically accept, "Oh I'm OK".  Read article. You might also like to read:    How to Keep Your House Cooler , or Save on Summer Cooling , or perhaps Senior Citizens and Water; How Much Water Do I Need?

JOHN MCCAIN, SOCIAL SECURITY IS NOT "A DISGRACE"
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July 29, 2008  Speaking at a town hall meeting earlier this month in Denver, Sen. McCain said, "Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today. And that's a disgrace. It's an absolute disgrace, and it's got to be fixed." Yet, media accounts reveal that despite McCain's views toward Social Security, and despite his $100-million-plus family fortune, he received $23,157 in Social Security benefits in 2007, an average of $1,929.75 each month. Every dollar was from payroll taxes paid by young workers in America. Perhaps Mr. McCain would be interested in returning all of those checks he has received on the backs of today's workers.

Forty-two million Americans receive Social Security benefits - these are our nation's elderly, our widows and widowers, and our young children who have seen a parent die. Helping them is not a disgrace. For years, senators have raided the Social Security Trust Fund to keep the government running. Rather than tax enough to pay the bills, they have printed money. and taken billions from seniors' future. And now this senator calls the Social Security System a "disgrace". Incredible!

Added August 1, 2008 Sen. McCain has hired Martin Feldstein as his economic adviser. Feldstein is the father of the misguided proposal to privatize Social Security. In 2005, The San Francisco Chronicle quoted Feldstein as saying, "I've always been opposed to Social Security. I think it's a very unethical program." Such quotes echo John McCain's recent statements on Social Security, in which he called the system 'an absolute disgrace.' Many seniors would have lost thousands in the stock market in recent years if privatization had been in effect.

Read: John McCain supports privatizing Social Security.

SENIOR ACTION REQUIRED

ARE YOU FALLING INTO THE DOUGHNUT HOLE?

15 ways you can survive a fall into that dreaded abyss

August 27, 2008  Yes,  Part  "D" is a bizarre system, crafted by a slight-of-hand Congress,  mostly  written  by the  drug  and  insurance companies.  Yes it can be overwhelming to the Senior who needs more than a minimal amount of medication each year. But do not despair. There are specific things you can do today to survive this convoluted program, and the doughnut hole

at its center. Read Complete Article

MANY ELIGIBLE LOW-INCOME SENIORS NOT APPLYING FOR PART D SUBSIDY
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Congressional Budget Office have estimated, respectively, that about 2.6 million to over 4 million individuals who may qualify for the Medicare prescription drug low-income subsidy are not receiving it. Various barriers, such as reluctance to disclose personal financial information or lack of knowledge of the subsidy, may prevent potentially eligible Medicare beneficiaries from applying for the subsidy. To view the highlights of the report, go to: http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08812thigh.pdf . To see if you qualify, or to apply, go to: https://s044a90.ssa.gov/apps6z/i1020/main.html

     Also see: Latest Health News , Latest Medicare News , Latest Social Security News

SCAM ARTISTS ARE HARD AT WORK

Seniors, be very careful with your computers. Scam artists send a constant flow of bogus and dangerous requests. Just today, I have received 5 overseas emails offering me millions if I will just contact them about something. It might be a business offer, a lottery, a long lost relative who has left me a fortune, or some other enticing offer. I have also received, almost on a daily basis, notices that the IRS has a sum of money to refund to me. Don't fall for any of it. Their ultimate goal is to take your money, and give you nothing but an empty bank account. They use actual company, or bank, or IRS logos that look totally real. Never give out account numbers, Social Security numbers, or anything else to an unsolicited request. 

The same goes for mail or phone solicitations. Give them nothing. Call their parent organization to see if a request is real. You have not won a prize or money. There is no inheritance. Ebay does not have a demand for cash or clarification of an order. You do not need to deal with

bank fraud online, or on the phone---unless you have called your bank. Be safe.

IRS STILL REACHING OUT TO MILLIONS OF POTENTIAL STIMULUS CHECK RECIPIENTS

he Internal Revenue Service has issued over 76 million checks together worth $63.8 billion to Americans eligible for economic stimulus payments; however, the delivery of payments to retirees and disabled veterans remains incomplete. To issue a payment, the IRS needs to have a person's 2007 income tax return. There are 20 million retirees and disabled veterans who do not normally file tax returns because their benefits are not taxable. The IRS has successfully contacted 74% of this elusive group, but 5.2 million retirees and disabled veterans have yet to send in the necessary information to the IRS. Later this summer, the IRS will send out a special letter containing information on stimulus payment eligibility and how to claim it, a sample tax form, and a real tax form that can be filled out and mailed back to the IRS. People who would not normally file a tax return should file Form 1040A. Recipients must have $3,000
in qualifying income, which includes certain types of Social Security and Veteran Affairs benefits. It is not too late to file your 2007 income taxes and get a stimulus check.  Do you know a Senior who may not have filed a 2007 tax return? Ask them. Churches--put it in the bulletin.   Senior Centers--post it.   Newspapers--Headline it.

 Read complete article