Universal Health Care

Wed Feb 27, 7:48 PM ET
Hillary Clinton opened fire on Barack Obama across an array of issues, but saved the really big guns for health care: "Of all our differences," said Hillary in Rhode Island (the forgotten primary state), "the one that is just inexplicable to me is his refusal to put forth a plan on universal health care and his continuing attacks on my plan to do so."
How hard can it be to offer a universal health care plan? "John Edwards had a plan, I had a plan, Chris Dodd had a plan, Dennis Kucinich had a plan, Bill Richardson had a plan. Because we're Democrats ..." Clinton said.
But Obama, in his Bob the Builder campaign designed to appeal to the toddler in every American, offers a plan that is all gain and no pain: subsidized health insurance for anyone who wants to buy it, whenever they want to buy it. More money, more choice, no cost. Gee, what's not to like?
Nothing, except that Hillary is correct. Obamacare can't possibly work, because it doesn't make sense to buy insurance when you are young and healthy if you are guaranteed access anyway when you are older and sicker.
And that's the problem.
The exchange between the two Democrats highlights the dirty little secret that not even Hillary will tell you about a universal government health insurance program. The problem with our current system that mandatory national health insurance will solve is not that people don't get health care -- it's that they don't pay for it.
Young healthy folks are more and more likely to go without health insurance. That means the pool of insured people is older and sicker and, therefore, more expensive to insure. Health insurance premiums rise, which makes health insurance an even worse deal for the relatively young and healthy, guaranteeing that more and more twentysomethings are uninsured, and health insurance costs for us middle-aged and older folks skyrocket.
What kind of people in the U.S. are uninsured? A whole lot of people like Brandy Coons, a 23-year-old Atlanta waitress highlighted on the front page of The New York Times as the new face of the "free rider" problem. Brandy admits she could probably afford a policy if she cut back on her gym membership and her photography hobby, but why should she do that?
"I'm young and in pretty good shape ... The insurance premium was more than what I would pay for my prescriptions, so I just decided not to deal with it," Coons said.
But even The New York Times cannot admit the real "free rider" problem here. It's not that the health care needs of uninsured twentysomethings like Brandy are bankrupting the system. It's that not enough twentysomethings like Brandy are paying for the health care of fortysomethings and older. That's the only way insurance makes sense: We pay into it when we are young and healthy, and we get something out of it when we are older and more likely to get sick.
But try running on that as your platform: Make the young people pay more!
Here's the other dirty little secret: National health insurance is going to cost Brandy and other taxpayers a whole lot more than either Hillary or Obama admits. Just ask Gov. Deval Patrick in Massachusetts, where just two years into operation, the state's mandatory health insurance plan is already costing $400 million more than budgeted.
Meanwhile we have a Medicare system that is going to go bankrupt.
Here's a question neither Hillary nor Barack will answer: How can we justify spending billions to insure the Brandys of the worlds, when we haven't yet secured the health care financing for our existing promises to senior citizens?

Notch
The Senior Citizens League members and supporters tend to be older, less affluent seniors. They are also, to a large extent, Notch babies - those individuals who receive lower Social Security benefits because they were born in the years 1917 and immediately thereafter. TSCL feels that this is an inequity that was brought about because of the Social Security Act Amendments enacted and signed into law in 1977. Just years before they were set to retire, these individuals discovered they would have significantly lower benefits than originally anticipated. And the problem only grew and compounded with the inflation that occurred in the early 1980s. Thus, in order to make the Social Security program more equitable in general, and to correct a wrong done to Notch babies, we believe that some recompense for that injustice should be provided.
TSCL strongly supported legislation introduced in the 109th Congress that would have provided either a lump-sum payment or an increased monthly benefit calculation to Notch babies. We were pleased to see that Congressman Ralph HallТs legislation, H.R. 615, got 118 co-sponsors in the last session - more than in any other session of Congress since the lump-sum proposal has been before Congress. We will continue to educate new Members of the House and Senate about the Notch and to work with past supporters of the Notch. With an increasing number of Notch co-sponsors during each of the last three sessions of Congress, we are hopeful that some type of Notch reform will take place in the 110th Congress.

A minority neglected

Most people share the same limited notion of diversity. Nowhere is the population of persons with disabliities and elders considered in many issues before our government bodies. Is it because they lack a political action committee to make campaign contributions to politicans?
Upper-class persons of color, upper-class woman and upper-class homosexuals show they are diverse. The ethic lobby shows its diversity as well. The also exclude poor persons, persons with disabilitities and older persons.
That is bad enough. But upper-class journalists who ignore this overt bias show that they share the predudices toward those two groups and have no shame about doing so
Roy Bercaw.Cambridge (letter to paper)
HOWARD MCGOWAN
MALDEN SENIOR

FILING 1040A FOR STIMULUS PAYMENT

Q: I normally don't need to file a tax return. How do I know if I'm one of those people who may be eligible to receive an economic stimulus payment?A: This group includes some recipients of Social Security, Railroad Retirement or veterans' benefits as well as taxpayers who do not make enough money to normally have to file a 2007 tax return. For example, this can include low-income workers, those who receive Social Security benefits or veterans’ disability compensation, pension or survivors’ benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2007. These people will be eligible to receive a payment of $300 ($600 on a joint return) if they had at least $3,000 of qualifying income.Qualifying income includes Social Security benefits, certain Railroad Retirement benefits, certain veterans’ benefits and earned income, such as income from wages, salaries, tips and self-employment. For people filing joint tax returns, only a total of $3,000 of qualifying income from both spouses is required to be eligible for a payment.




Special Guidelines for Recipients of Certain Social Security, Veterans and Railroad BenefitsCertain people who normally are not required to file but who are eligible for the stimulus payment will have to file a 2007 tax return. This includes low-income workers or those who receive Social Security benefits or veterans’ disability compensation, pension or survivors’ benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2007. These taxpayers will be eligible to receive a payment of $300 ($600 on a joint return) if they had at least $3,000 of qualifying income.Qualifying income includes Social Security benefits, certain Railroad Retirement benefits, certain veterans’ benefits and earned income, such as income from wages, salaries, tips and self-employment. For taxpayers filing joint tax returns, only a total of $3,000 of qualifying income from both spouses is required to be eligible for a payment.The special version of the Form 1040A unveiled today on IRS.gov shows taxpayers in these groups the specific sections of the form they need to fill out to qualify for the stimulus payment. The mock-up is designed to be used as a guide for filling out an actual Form 1040A."People who don’t normally need to file have a roadmap on how to fill out the Form 1040A quickly and easily," Stiff said. "We encourage recipients of Social Security and veterans’ benefits who don’t normally need to file a tax return to use this mock-up of the form as a guide to help them get their stimulus payment."The Form 1040A illustration on IRS.gov shows the limited number of lines that will need to be filled out for recipients of Social Security, certain Railroad Retirement and certain veterans’ benefits. A key line is reporting their 2007 benefits on Line 14a of Form 1040A. The IRS reminds taxpayers they can also use Line 20a on Form 1040 to report these same benefits.In addition, taxpayers in these groups should write the words "Stimulus Payment" at the top of the 1040A or 1040.For now, taxpayers in this group filing a tax return can only file a paper copy of the Form 1040 or Form 1040A. The IRS is working to update its systems to accept electronic versions of these limited-information returns for taxpayers who otherwise have no need to file a tax return. The IRS is also working with the software community to handle these returns electronically at a future date.The IRS also reminded taxpayers with Social Security, Railroad Retirement or veterans’ benefits who have already filed but did not report their qualifying benefits on either Line 14a of Form 1040A or Line 20a of Form 1040 that they may need to file an amended return in some situations to receive a larger stimulus payment.Taxpayers who already have filed but did not report these benefits can file an amended return by using Form 1040X, which can only be filed with a paper form.The IRS reminded taxpayers who don’t have any other requirement to file a tax return that submitting a tax return to qualify for the economic stimulus payments does not create any additional tax or trigger a tax bill. In addition, the stimulus payments will not have any effect on eligibility for federal benefits.The IRS is working with the Social Security Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs and other organizations to ensure that recipients are aware of the need to file a tax return to receive their stimulus payment in 2008.

Stimulus Package

On Wednesday President Bush signed into law H.R. 5140, the economic stimulus package. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that rebate checks could be in the mail as early as May. Individuals will receive $600, couples will receive $1200, and an additional $300 will be given for each child under 17. Individuals and couples earning over $75,000 and $150,000, respectively, will have their eligibility phased out. Individuals who earn $3,000, receive Social Security or are disabled veterans will receive $300.

Probate Court Reform

For Elder a loss of Control and Power Courts strip elders of their independence
Within minutes ,judges send seniors to supervised care. Massachusetts Probate and Family Court where judges routinely fast track infirm elders into the care of guardians
No opportunity to object, no right to have a lawyer representation.
No chance to be in the courtroom
No medical required by court rules
No patient long term prognosis
No independent fact finder inquiry.
Problem no relatives involved.
"Un befriended elders" no relatives or even friends, petitioners
mostly hospitals and nursing homes assert person is incapacitated.
After the court declares someone mentally ill and appoints a guardian the patients vanish.
No mechanism in place to protect their interest from unregulated guardians
Massachusetts provides no legal council for incapacitated elders "If criminal defendants are guaranteed an attorney, elders who have done nothing wrong ought to have the same protection"
Chief Justice of Probate presses for an overhaul
YEAR LONG REVIEW.
Probate Courts will begin demanding greater medical proof that the guardianship is warranted
Additional training in guardianship cases for judges, lawyers and guardians
Massachusetts not in forefront in terms of guardianship reform.
Overhauls of probate law mired in legislature for nearly a decade
Legislation should include:
1. Detailed Medical Information
2. Limit the scope of guardianship powers
3. Examine the guardianship qualifications
4. Provide for the incapacitated person to be present at the hearing
5. Have a right to council
6. Additional court approval for nursing home placements
7. Mandate guardians file detailed annual reports on physical and mental health
8, Create Public Guardianship Commission.

Keep McFadden Open

Written By Valerie Folk to the editor local paper
As many of you may recall, for the past year many of us have been working to keep McFadden Memorial Manor open. It is an outstanding facility that provides superior care to Seniors who need nursing home care. It has received to marks in all cetegories in state audits and surveys. McFaddon is home for these people.
The Board of Health will be voting on McFaddens future. Please help in our efforts to persuade city officials to keep this facility open. Join the Friends of McFadden. Let's not displace our seniors.

Marketing artists in residence project that will be housed in a vacant convent

The City of Malden/Malden Redevelopment $5000 grant to market an artists-in-residence project that will be housed in a vacant convent. Once owned by Sacred Hearts Church in Malden Square.
Nine afforable units will be located in the building Web Site to market the project to area artists
Announcement in local paper by Stephen M. Wishoski, Executive Director of the MRA

Lobbying

Health insurer Aetna Inc. spent nearly $2.1 million in 2007 to lobby on health legislation and issues related to drug importation, generic drugs and Medicare payments.
The Hartford, Conn.-based company also lobbied on numerous other issues, including the tax status of health maintenance organizations, medical malpractice, children's health insurance program and the security of electronic health data.
The company spent about $872,000 in the second half of 2007 to lobby Congress, the White House and other agencies, according to a disclosure form posted online Feb. 4 by the Senate's public records office.
It spent $1.2 million in the first six months of 2007 to lobby on largely the same issues.
Lobbyists are required to disclose activities that could influence members of the executive and legislative branches, under a federal law enacted in 1995.

Public Meeting Government Center matv

Verizon Public Hearing on Thursday, February 28, 6pm in City Council Chambers
As many of you know, Verizon is in negotiations with the City of Malden to become a secondary cable provider for the citizens of Malden. As part of these negotiations, Verizon will be asked to support MATV with a portion of the operating funds and a capital contribution. Just as we did during the negotiations with Comcast, we are asking MATV members to come to the hearing and speak in support of MATV. Let Verizon know what MATV is all about and how it benefits you, members of the Malden community. Let them know why we are worth supporting with substantial operating and capital funds. We have saved your letters that were submitted from the previous public hearing, and we'll be re-submitting these to Verizon. But we'd love to see many MATV members attend the public hearing on Thursday, February 28th and speak out on behalf of MATV. For more information, email Ron or myself. And thanks, in advance, for your support!

MEDICARE

When Lyndon Johnson devised Medicare in 1965, he didn't order senior citizens to go out and buy private insurance, adequate and affordable or not, or be fined. Medicare covered everyone, bypassing the notoriously inefficient private insurance industry.