Issue
Brief: Health Care We Can Count On (November
2007)
This issue brief from the
Alliance for Retired Americans Educational Fund
(ARAEF) examines the stake that retirees have
in the health care reform discussion and why
their involvement is critical if there is to be
universal coverage with an adequate benefits
package. In particular, questions need to be
raised and answered on prospective changes to
Medicare, retiree health care, long-term care,
and the health security of younger
generations.
Outrageous
Fortune (September
2007)
Through patent
extensions, inflated price information,
superficial lawsuits, political contributions,
lobbying and marketing, and lucrative
opportunities with the Medicare Modernization
Act Part D benefit, the pharmaceutical industry
has been able to increase as well as protect
its profits while plundering the pockets of the
American people.
Medicare
Under Attack: Will Privatizing Measures Destroy
the Program? (August
2007)
Since the 1965
enactment of Medicare, the program has provided
hospital and outpatient health care coverage
for persons over age 65 and younger adults with
permanent disabilities. This issue brief from
the Alliance for Retired Americans Educational
Fund (ARAEF) outlines the evolution of the
privatization of Medicare and what it means to
the future of the program and well-being of
Medicare beneficiaries.
Medicare
Advantage: A Windfall For Insurers; Downfall
for Beneficiaries (August
2007)
Nearly 44
million Americans are Medicare beneficiaries.
Although 80 percent receive their health care
services through the traditional Medicare
program, about one in five - 8.7 million -
receive care through Medicare Advantage (MA)
plans. This issue brief from the Alliance for
Retired Americans Educational Fund (ARAEF)
provides an overview of the shortcomings of
Medicare Advantage plans overall and of the
fastest growing of MA plan types, the Private
Fee-For-Service (PFFS) plans, in
particular.
[Issue Brief] Understanding
Medicare's Preventive Services (Aug
2006)
This report highlights the
preventive care services and demonstration
projects provided by the Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal
agency that administers these programs.
Medicare
IB 2 806 final.pdf
[Issue Brief] How Medicare Part
D Fares and What Lies Ahead (Aug
2006)
The new Medicare
prescription drug law was created under great
controversy and implemented with confusion
and uncertainty. In this report,
the Alliance for Retired Americans Educational
Fund examines the issues seniors faced in
enrolling in a drug plan, and the subsequent
economic and health care ramifications of this
new law.
Medicare
IB
806.pdf
[Issue Brief] Long-Term Care Policy:
Its Time Has Come...Again (Nov 2005 - No.
8)
An increasing number of
Americans will need long-term care in the
future and the costs are expected to rise. Yet
long-term care languishes in the health policy
background despite widespread public support
for action. This brief provides an overview of
essential factors that should be considered in
developing a long-term care policy for the
nation.
WHCoA_November2005_web.pdf
[Issue
Brief] Vanishing: Pensions and Savings (Sept
2005 - No. 7)
The movement away from
guaranteed pension benefits creates the
potential for economic hardship for millions of
Americans during their retirement years. This
report examines the shifting trends in
employer-sponsored pension and retirement
savings plans in the private sector and makes
recommendations for protecting existing
benefits and expanding coverage for those
workers who are not participating in any plan.
WHCoA_Sept05_web.pdf
[Issue
Brief] An Affordable Home of One's Own (Aug
2005 - No. 6)
In an inflated housing market,
many older Americans are finding it difficult
to find or maintain homes that meet their
physical and financial needs. As America ages,
the need for affordable, quality housing is
increasingly important. This report examines
the housing needs of older Americans, the
status of federal housing programs, and what
actions may be taken on the federal, state, and
local levels to address what has been
characterized as a "quiet crisis in
America."
WHCoA_August_FINAL_web.pdf
[Issue
Brief] Retiring
Into Work (Jul 2005 - No. 5)
(PDF: 155KB)
Working
in later life often supplements other sources
of retirement income, such as Social Security,
pensions and savings, and it is likely to
become even more important in the future. This
report explores the advantages and
disadvantages of working longer and the
practices that can encourage continued
participation in the labor force at older
ages.
[Issue
Brief] Medicare
Rx Drug Benefit: Navigating Low-Income
Assistance (Jun 2005 - No. 4)
(PDF: 150KB)
Under
the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement,
and Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003, all
Medicare beneficiaries who have Medicare Part A
(Hospital Insurance) or Part B (Medical
Insurance for doctor services and outpatient
care) will have access to prescription drug
benefits. Most individuals will obtain drug
coverage through private plans. This report
provides basic information for low-income
beneficiaries, their families and their
advocates about the application process for
assistance and
enrollment.
[Issue
Brief] Medicare
Prescription Drug Benefit: A Guide Through the
Maze (May 2005 - No. 3) (PDF: 157KB)
This
report provides basic information individuals
need to understand the prescription drug
benefit, the implementation process, the
decisions and actions they must take, and the
resources available to them.
[Issue
Brief] Social
Security for All Ages (Apr 2005 - No.
2) (PDF:
161KB)
This
issue brief draws upon a report released
earlier by the Alliance for Retired Americans
Educational Fund, Social Security Under Attack.
It highlights how the Social Security program
works, the protections that it provides, key
points about the effects of privatization and
how minor adjustments will provide for promised
benefits over the next 75 years.
[Report]
Social
Security Under Attack (PDF: 11MB - NOTE: This is a very
large file*)
For
nearly 70 years, Social Security has been the
bedrock of income security for nearly all
Americans, providing benefits to retirees,
those with disabilities, and the survivors of
retired and deceased workers. The program has
never missed a benefits payment in its history.
However, the program is threatened by proposals
to divert a portion of payroll contributions
from the Social Security Trust Fund into
private accounts. This report examines the
effects of privatization and offers better
solutions. An appendix reviews how the program
works and the protections that is provides.
[*To request printed copies of the report,
please call 1-888-633-4435.]
[Issue
Brief] White
House Conference on Aging 2005 (Feb 2005 - No.
1) (PDF:
2.4MB)
This
report is the first in a series from the
Alliance for Retired Americans Educational
Fund, leading up to the White House Conference
on Aging (WHCoA), tentatively scheduled for
October 23-26, 2005 (this may change to a later
date) in Washington, D.C. As a framework for
the series, this brief presents background on
the conference, a profile of the baby boom
population, which will be a major focus of the
October meeting, a history of WHCoAs, and the
reflections of a federal official who
participated in the first conference in 1961.
Subsequent briefs will focus on issues and
programs that must be considered at the WHCoA
as the nation's boomers become retirees. These
topics will include Social Security, Medicare,
pensions, work and retirement, health care
status and coverage, long-term care, housing,
transportation and the Older Americans Act.
[Report]
Broken
Promises-Retiree Health Care (PDF: 896KB)
Health
plans for retirees over and under age 65 in
America today are not keeping pace with the
needs of the nation's retirees. Most early
retirees are without coverage and those who
have it face increasing cost-sharing. For those
over age 65, Medicare is typically the primary
source of health insurance coverage but the
program covers little more than half of health
care costs. This report assesses current public
and private approaches to retiree health care
coverage.
