Gregor's Environmental & Social Justice Issues Blog

Extra payments to Medicare Advantage plans to total $8.5 billion in 2008
Overpayments will remain significant even after payment reductions in new Medicare legislation are implemented
Published on Sep 5, 2008 - 9:29:06 AM

By: Commonwealth Fund

New York, NY, September 5, 2008 - Private Medicare Advantage (MA) plans will be paid an average 12.4 percent more per enrollee in 2008 compared to what the same enrollee would have cost in the traditional Medicare fee-for-service program, according to a new report from The Commonwealth Fund. Even if the payment reductions to MA plans mandated by the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) - scheduled to take effect beginning in 2010 – had been fully in place in 2008, MA plans still would have been paid 10.6 percent more than expected fee-for-service costs.

In the report, Brian Biles, professor of health policy at George Washington University, and colleagues estimate that extra payments to MA plans will amount to $986 over fee-for-service costs for each of about 8.7 million Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, for a total of more than $8.5 billion in 2008 – up from $3.9 billion in extra payments, or $795 per MA enrollee in 2004. Extra payments to MA plans between 2004 and 2008 will total nearly $33 billion.

The bulk of these extra payments were mandated by the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, which was intended to expand the role of private plans in Medicare in an effort to reduce growth in Medicare spending. Since 2004, MA plan enrollment has increased from 4.8 million to the current 8.7 million.

"The legislation passed this year only partially addresses the overpayment problem in Medicare Advantage, and private plans still substantially raise the cost of serving Medicare beneficiaries," said Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis. "Policymakers should carefully examine whether extra payments to Medicare Advantage plans are the best use of dollars for the beneficiaries the program is designed to serve."

The authors of the report, The Continuing Cost of Privatization: Extra Payments to Medicare Advantage Plans in 2008, note that eliminating extra payments to private plans could be used for other purposes, such as offsetting the costs of Medicare policy improvements, which may include: slowing the increase in the Part B premium that Medicare beneficiaries pay, increasing eligibility for low-income subsidies in Medicare, or improving benefits and financial security for all beneficiaries.

"Medicare Advantage was intended to save the program money through the use of private plans. However, extra payments to these plans combined with rapidly increasing enrollment, has resulted in $33 billion in additional spending over the past five years," said Biles. "These overpayments put pressure on both Medicare and the federal budget, drain resources from other, potentially more productive, uses, and dilute the incentive for Medicare Advantage plan efficiency – which was one of the original reasons for including a private plan option in Medicare."

The Commonwealth Fund is a private foundation supporting independent research on health policy reform and a high performance health system.

UN Secretary-General calls for greater global leadership from US in tackling climate change
US is the largest, biggest emission producing country
Published on Sep 3, 2008 - 8:19:35 AM

By: United Nations Environment Programme

Sept. 1, 2008 - As the world focuses on devastating floods in India and the latest hurricane threat to the southern United States, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for greater global leadership in tackling climate change, singling out the United States as having a particularly significant part to play.

"The United States will have to take one of the most important leadership roles," he said at a press conference in Geneva. "The United States is the largest, biggest emission producing country. In fact, the United States so far, until now, has been taking a constructive role in the negotiations of the [United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] UNFCCC through their initiative of convening a major economies conference, but I think that is not enough. All the countries of the international community are looking forward to more and greater leadership of the United States."

The Secretary-General was speaking after the 20th anniversary session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), established in 1988 to communicate the definitive science of climate change to the world's governments.

Underscoring the need to maintain momentum towards an agreement on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol by the December 2009 climate summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, Secretary-General Ban paid tribute to the accomplishments of the IPCC.

Noting that the IPCC's "rigorous scientific tradition" in relating science to public policy, Secretary-General Ban said: "It is crucial that this new agreement measures up to your Panel's scientific findings. That is why I look to you to constantly make the scientific case for action on the road to Copenhagen, and indeed beyond."

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, also highlighted the importance of the meeting in Copenhagen in his speech to the IPCC.

"There are just some 500 days for governments to deliver what the world is waiting for in Copenhagen in 2009. The facts and figures from IPCC delivered in 2007, and which powered the Bali climate convention meeting into high gear, remain as valid and as sobering today as they did just over six months ago."

IPCC predictions are that extreme weather events, such as Hurricane Gustav and 2005's Hurricane Katrina, and the current floods that have rendered 1.2 million people homeless India's Bihar state, will continue to increase in frequency and intensity due to climate change, affecting more and more people and economies around the world.

Red Cross Advises Evacuees to Stay Put Until Conditions Are Safe

Published on Sep 2, 2008 - 12:21:28 PM

By: American Red Cross

WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 2008 - Although what was once Hurricane Gustav has weakened to a tropical depression, the American Red Cross urges all evacuees to stay away from affected areas until authorities deem it safe to return.

"We know people are eager to go home, especially if they think the danger has passed," said Joe Becker, Senior Vice President of Disaster Services. "However, we ask that people be patient, since conditions are still unsafe in many places." If authorities have not given the all-clear for residents to return, they could be denied entry into their community. It is still hazardous to return to many areas, as Gustav has caused flooding and massive power outages, as well as downed power lines and trees. Tornadoes are also possible in the wake of the storm.

For residents still in the path of Tropical Depression Gustav who are experiencing power outages, the Red Cross offers this advice:

-- Only use a flashlight for emergency lighting. Never use candles.

-- Turn off electrical equipment you were using when the power went out.

-- Avoid opening the refrigerator and freezer.

-- Do not run a generator inside a home or garage.

-- If you use a generator, connect the equipment you want to power directly to the outlets on the generator. Do not connect a generator to a home's electrical system.

-- Listen to local radio and television for updated information.

The Red Cross has 343 shelters open in 10 states, housing a population of nearly 60,000 people. Its many workers are providing evacuees with food, shelter and emotional support, and are prepared to do so until it is safe for people to go home. The Red Cross is also preparing to move into storm-hit areas in order to provide services to returning residents. Gustav has cost the Red Cross $20 million to date.

The Red Cross is now readying itself as a busy Atlantic Ocean brings tropical storms Hanna, Ike and Josephine.

All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the Hurricanes of 2008, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-RED CROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.

Joint Center Points to Large Drop in Number of Black Delegates to GOP Convention
Lowest black representation in 40 years
Published on Sep 2, 2008 - 7:51:32 AM

By: Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

WASHINGTON, D.C. Aug. 29, 2008 - After seating a record number of African American delegates in 2004, next week's Republican National Convention in Minneapolis/St. Paul will have the lowest black representation in 40 years, according to a convention guide that will be distributed next week to delegates at the Republican National Convention by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies (Joint Center).

Blacks and the 2008 Republican Convention, released today by the nonpartisan research institution that focuses on minority issues, notes that African Americans will comprise only 1.5 percent of the total number of GOP delegates, substantially below the record setting 6.7 percent in 2004.

The 36 black delegates in 2008 represent a 78.4 percent decline from the 167 black delegates at the 2004 GOP convention.

Based on extensive polling and analysis of African American voters nationwide, the Joint Center's guide, while noting Senator John McCain's efforts to reach out to black organizations such as the NAACP and the National Urban League, outlined the difficulties he will have running against the first African American to secure a major party nomination.

"John McCain is very likely to receive a historically low share of the black vote," the guide says, adding that this is not attributable to any experiences Senator McCain has had representing black constituents, but rather it is "a reflection of Senator Obama's historic candidacy, the deep and genuine enthusiasm for him in the black community, and Senator McCain's association with President Bush, an exceptionally unpopular figure among African Americans."

The Joint Center has prepared similar volumes for both the Republican and Democratic conventions every four years since 1972. Written by the organization's Senior Political Analyst, David A. Bositis, the guides are intended to help African American convention participants carry out their responsibilities and to inform political analysis and partisan activities, as well as to enhance the understanding of trends among black voters. The guide includes an insert, prepared by the Joint Center's Health Policy Institute, comparing the health care reform plans of the two major party candidates and the implications for racial/ethnic minorities.

"This guide scientifically documents the historical shift of black voter allegiances over the past 50 years, and places black voter attitudes and preferences in the context of the pressing issues of our day," said Ralph B. Everett, President and CEO of the Joint Center. "We hope that delegates to the Republican National Convention will find this information useful in understanding the concerns of black voters and how they will influence the upcoming election."

The Joint Center released its companion volume for delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention last week on the eve of the event.

A copy of Blacks and the 2008 Republican Convention is available for download at the Joint Center's Web site (www.jointcenter.org).

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is one of the nation's premier research and public policy institutions and the only one whose work focuses exclusively on issues of particular concern to African Americans and other people of color. For more information, go to www.jointcenter.org

Greenpeace: Statement on Palin Announcement

Published on Sep 1, 2008 - 6:46:16 AM

By: Greenpeace

Aug. 29, 20008 - Statement by Global Warming Campaigner Melanie Duchin, Greenpeace USA:

"Sarah Palin has one of the most anti-environment records of any governor in the United States. She has supported oil drilling in some of the most ecologically sensitive areas in Alaska, even when it meant sacrificing polar bears, beluga whales, and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Despite her advocacy for expanded oil and gas drilling, Palin has done almost nothing to promote the clean energy sources that can help solve global warming, which is already having major negative consequences in her state. That shouldn't be surprising since she started her campaign by denying the reality of man-made global warming.

"In a way, this is an appropriate choice for John McCain, who has rapidly abandoned his environmental principles and adopted the agenda of the oil executives backing his campaign."

Website: www.greenpeace.org