MONDAY ALERT State Alliance for Retired Americans 906 Columbia SW Suite 202 Olympia, WA 98501-1240 https://washington.retiredamericans.org/ • Contact Us

February 25, 2019

WSARA Presidents’ Day Recess Meetings with Members of Congress

President Jackie Boschok would like to thank all the WSARA members that participated with her in three meetings last week with Representatives Dr. , Suzan DelBene and . We joined many other state ARA chapters across the country in conversations about important issues and bills in Congress now. Many ARA fact sheets were provided to guide our discussions around the challenges and opportunities facing retirees today.

To help educate our members about these issues, this week I’m sharing more about our discussions on the expansion of Social Security and reducing prescription drug costs. Annually, the ARA updates its Social Security & Medicare Current Facts and Figures as a valuable resource to empower members on these two programs and copies were given to our representatives.

On February 13, Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) introduced S. 478, the Social Security Expansion Act along with Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) as H.R. 1170. During our visit, all the Representatives were urged to support this expansion bill. It includes provisions to include all the items listed in the ARA Expand Social Security Fact Sheet:

• increases benefits for all current and future beneficiaries;

• requires that Social Security annual cost of living adjustments (COLA) be calculated using the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E). The CPI-E more accurately reflects the rising cost of goods and services used by older Americans than the current formula;

• increases the special minimum benefit for low-wage earners;

• helps widows and widowers by ensuring that surviving spouses receive 75% of the total household Social Security benefits that they received prior to their spouse’s death; and

• increases the solvency of the Social Security Trust Funds by raising the cap on earnings subject to Social Security contributions, which is capped at $132,900 in 2019.

Last year Congress established the Expand Social Security Congress and both Representative DelBene and Smith immediately signed on to protect and expand benefits. They were both thanked for saying no to any cuts to the Social Security system. Newly elected Congresswoman Kim Schrier committed to join the caucus and we commended her support for current and future beneficiaries.

Many hearings are being held in Congress around skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs. The Alliance supports the Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act (S. 377 and H.R. 1046) introduced by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Representative (D-TX) on February 7, 2019.

The Medicare Prescription Drug Negotiations Fact Sheet provides information on this bill to require the Health and Human Services Secretary to negotiate Medicare drug prices directly with pharmaceutical corporations, the way the government does now for Medicaid, the Department of Defense, and the Veterans Administration. If negotiations fail, the government would be authorized to license patents in order to foster generic competition.

We are encouraged that both Democrats and Republicans agree that action needs to be taken to address the price of drugs. In all three meetings, our Representatives were urged to support H.R. 1046 as one great way to solve this problem.

Next week, information will be covered about the important topics covered at our meetings with members of Congress. Later under the ARA section of the Monday Alert, a photo of the WSARA meeting with Rep. Kim Schrier is featured. Here are pictures of the other two meetings held last week:

Left to right: WSARA members John Smith, Jackie Boschok, Rep. Suzan DelBene, Don Bennett and Steve Kofahl

Left to right, WSARA President Jackie Boschok, Rep. Adam Smith, Ron McGaha, and Claude Burfect

For 2020 Dem Hopefuls, ‘Medicare-For-All’ Is A Defining Issue, However They Define It Kaiser Health News By Shefali Luthra

Support for “Medicare-for-all” is becoming a front-runner topic among Democratic presidential candidates. But the phrase is being used to describe any number of policies. Read the entire article here.

From the National Council of Aging NCOA Week February 19, 2019 newsletter:

Late last week, a deal was reached to finalize the remaining seven FY19 appropriations bills that had yet to be enacted. The legislation largely level-funds programs and services that seniors rely on, such as Section 202 housing and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSBG). They’ve updated their table to provide more details. Review their funding table here.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Funding for the program that supports our state’s SHIBA program (Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors) was maintained at its current level, even though the FY2019 Administration Request was for zero dollars!

Upcoming Events:

Friday, March 8: International Women’s Day. More info at https://www.internationalwomensday.com/IWD2019

Wednesday, March 13-15: WA State Labor Council Path to Power Political Candidate Training at the IUPAT DC 5 Hall located at 6770 E Marginal Way S, Seattle, WA 98108. For more inf and to request an application, contact WSLC Field Mobilization Director Cherika Carter at [email protected] or 206-281-8901

Race and Labor: Thursday, April 4: WA State Labor Council “At the River I Stand” Viewing and Discussion from 5 pm – 8 pm Friday, April 5: WA State Labor Council Race and Labor Training from 9 am – 5 pm Both events will be held at the International Union of Painters & Allied Trades District Council 5 located at 6770 E Marginal Way S Building E, Room 370, Seattle, WA 98108. To register, or for more information, please contact Richard Cox at [email protected]

Thursday, May 30: 2019 WSARA Annual Convention. More info coming soon.

ARA Headlines: Drug Companies Continue to Resist Attempts to Lower Prices; Alliance Members Call on Congressional Representatives during Presidents Day Recess; Tax Returns Confirm 2017 Tax Cuts Were a Tax Scam; House Ways and Means Hearing Looks for Ways to Improve Retirement Security; Video: New Mexico Alliance Member Annette Arvizu Shares Her Experience with Social Security and Medicare

Drug Companies Continue to Resist Attempts to Lower Prices Congress may be finally taking action to lower drug prices, holding hearings and introducing new legislation at a quick pace since the beginning of the year. This week Rep. (VT) introduced a bill that would allow patients to import cheaper insulin from other countries, starting with Canada and including other nations after two years. The price of insulin is hurting tens of thousands of retirees every day.

The problem remains acute: sixty drug manufacturers have raised prices on more than 300 drugs in January, with more following soon after.

Drug corporations have been unwilling to discuss their practices under oath, refusing to participate in House and Senate hearings -- actions that garnered sharp criticism from Sens. Chuck Grassley (IA) and Ron Wyden (OR), chairman and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee. Grassley and Wyden had invited representatives from seven major drug corporations to testify in front of their committee in late January. The senators promised to be “more insistent” that they show up for a February 26 hearing.

Drug corporations are also keeping prices high by exploiting loopholes in U.S. patent law, resulting in Americans paying up to five times more than their European counterparts. AbbVie, the manufacturer of Humira, filed dozens of patents to maintain their monopolies and block generics from entering the market. Humira is the most popular and profitable drug in the world due to its uses for treating conditions like Crohn’s disease and arthritis.

Executives have long claimed that high prices were warranted to encourage research and development of new medicines. Now they are also shifting the blame to industry middlemen, blaming rebates in the supply chain. Research, however, points to increased advertising expenditures as the cause for price increases. Spending on marketing in the healthcare industry has nearly doubled since 1997.

“The Senate hearings certainly demonstrate a bipartisan interest in bringing prices down, but relief is far from assured and we must continue to push our elected officials for real change. In America, there are people who are choosing between food and medicine on a daily basis. It’s well past time to help millions of citizens and taxpayers who are paying too much for the medications they need,” said Robert Roach, Jr., President of the Alliance.

Alliance Members Call on Congressional Representatives during Presidents Day Recess

Alliance members across the country are meeting with their representatives to discuss senior issues and the broader Congressional agenda.

More than twenty meetings have already taken place this month and the Alliance expects at least 100 meetings to be completed around the Presidents Day recess overall. “We are pleased whenever we see our members interact with their elected officials, offer their firsthand experiences with Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, and express the Alliance’s point of view,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance. “These meetings are extremely valuable for letting Congress know what we believe needs to be done to ensure the health and vitality of both current and future older Americans.”

Tax Returns Confirm 2017 Tax Cuts Were a Tax Scam

With the tax season beginning, Americans are filing their first returns since the 2017 tax law changes went into effect. And many are reporting being shocked when they no longer receive a refund or even owe taxes.

According to the IRS, tax refunds are down 8%, or $170 per filer, compared to last year. The number of people receiving a refund at all decreased by almost 25%, and a similar number owe money after never owing in the past. Overall, support for this tax law is dropping and a majority of Americans, believing that corporations aren’t paying their fair share, support increased taxes on the wealthy.

The effects of the bill will mount in the coming years. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center says that by 2027, taxes will be higher for 53 percent of taxpayers, while the large tax breaks will go to the wealthiest five percent of taxpayers.

Kathleen Trisdale, a disabled veteran from who was profiled in USA Today, owes more than $2,000 in income taxes for 2018. She says she relies on her military pension and Social Security for income and that she expected to owe something this year, but not more than $1,000. “I’m a low-income person so I didn’t think I would be affected this much.”

House Ways and Means Hearing Looks for Ways to Improve Retirement Security

On February 6, the House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Rep. (MA), held a hearing on Improving Retirement Security for America’s Workers. The multiemployer pension crisis, the lack of retirement savings and the need to expand Social Security, as well as the need to lower prescription drug prices, were all discussed. The Alliance submitted a statement for the record for the hearing with its views on these issues.

“In light of the fact that 77% of Americans fall short of the savings target for their age, in large part because workers’ wages have been stagnant for 20 years while the cost of living has increased, Congress must take bold action to improve retirement security for all,” said Joseph Peters, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “We are committed to helping the new Congress find ways to address these critical issues for current and future retirees.”

Video: New Mexico Alliance Member Annette Arvizu Shares Her Experience with Social Security and Medicare

This week, the Alliance continues its series of sharing personal stories from our members highlighting key retiree issues. Today, we highlight New Mexico Alliance member Annette Arvizu as she discusses how Social Security and Medicare have supported her throughout her life.

Ms. Arvizu says that Social Security allowed her and her siblings to attend college after her father died. Later, it kept her afloat when her husband died unexpectedly and allowed her own daughter to attend college. Now, Medicare helps her take care of her son, who is living with a rare genetic disorder. Her story demonstrates the need to protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for all Americans.

For the Alliance's Spanish language page, which includes last week's Friday Alert in Spanish, go to www.retiredamericans.org/en-espanol