| |  | | | | A Call to Consider the Least of These
Today, the Congressional Black Caucus submitted a letter with recommendations to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. The budget, as I have often in the past said, is a moral document. In an effort to ensure that those in our most vulnerable communities are not forgotten as the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction develops its proposal, the Democratic members of the Congressional Black Caucus urged the Committee to review the CBC's FY 2012 Budget as a framework for protecting those Americans most in need. The CBC Alternative Budget protects and strengthens the social safety net, accelerates our economic recovery, and brings fairness to the tax code.
The CBC Budget prioritizes our most pressing needs: furthering economic development and job creation, promoting cradle to college and workforce education, and protecting the Affordable Care Act. It makes significant investments in education, job training, transportation and infrastructure, and advanced research and development programs that will accelerate our economic recovery. At the same time, the CBC Budget protects the social safety net without cutting Social Security, killing Medicaid, or making seniors contribute more to Medicare. Even as our nation's economy slowly rebounds, our communities experience disproportionately higher rates of unemployment, home foreclosure, educational disadvantages, and economic hardship. As a result, vulnerable communities increasingly rely on public programs to meet their basic needs, but these are the programs the Republican Leadership decimated with their FY2012 budget proposal.
The cuts called for in Congress have a real, painful impact in our communities. The least of these should not bear the burden for a problem they did not produce. Budgets are a window into the moral compass of our conscience as a nation. While we as a nation must learn to live within our means, there is a better way to find fiscal fitness. Recklessly cutting vital programs like job training, education, and health care to millions of hardworking American families will not get our nation's economy back into shape. Only by responsibly reducing our deficit, while investing in our communities and our future can we make our economy strong and successful again.
You can read the letter sent to the Super Committee here, and find out more about the CBC Alternative Budget by clicking here.
Medicare Open Enrollment Begins Tomorrow
Medicare Open Enrollment opens tomorrow, Saturday, October 15. This is a bit earlier than in past years, and will last seven weeks, ending on December 7. This will give seniors and people with disabilities more time to compare and find the best plan that meets their unique needs.
The popular web-based Medicare Plan Finder is now available to help beneficiaries, their families, other caregivers, and senior program advocates look at all local prescription drug and health plan options that are available for the 2012 benefit year. To access the Medicare Plan Finder, you can click here.
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, seniors now have access to cheaper prescription drugs, free preventive services, and lower costs. For example,- Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, seniors who are in the Medicare Part D ‘donut hole' coverage gap are now receiving a 50% discount on brand-name drugs (effective January 1, 2011).
- Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, seniors are now receiving free key preventive health services, such as mammograms and colonoscopies (effective January 1, 2011).
- Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, seniors are now receiving a free Annual Wellness Visit under Medicare (effective January 1, 2011).
- The Affordable Care Act has also strengthened Medicare – adding eight years to Medicare's solvency.
Nearly 1.8 million Medicare beneficiaries have already received the 50% discount on brand-name drugs in the Medicare Part D ‘donut hole' coverage gap. In Missouri, more than 37,000 seniors have taken advantage of the 50% discount on brand-name drugs in the ‘donut hole.' Each senior in Missouri has saved, on average, about $524.18.
18.9 million individuals enrolled in traditional Medicare (or 55.6 percent of those enrolled in the program) have received one or more free preventive services so far this year, as of August 31. In Missouri, 413,207 seniors have received a free preventive service, like a mammogram or colonoscopy. In addition, 1.3 million individuals enrolled in traditional Medicare have taken advantage of the new free Annual Wellness visit. 20,105 of those were in Missouri. You may wonder, why is this such a good thing? Of course we want our friends and neighbors to live longer and healthier lives, but should Medicare really pay for these services?
The answer is a resounding yes. One of the best ways to improve the quality of life for anyone, and to control health care costs for us all, is to prevent an illness in the first place. Chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, are responsible for 7 of 10 deaths among Americans each year and account for 75 percent of the nation's health spending – and these diseases often are preventable. Nationally, we only use preventive services about half the time we actually should. Getting access to early care and screenings saves lives and saves money, and it will go far in preventing chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, and high-blood pressure.
Resources for Medicare Beneficiaries People with Medicare, their families and other trusted representatives can review and compare current plan coverage with new plan offerings, using many proven resources, including:
- Visiting www.medicare.gov, where they can get a personalized comparison of costs and coverage of the plans available in their area. The popular Medicare Plan Finder tool has been enhanced for an efficient review of plan choices. Spanish Open Enrollment information is available.
- Calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) for around-the-clock assistance to find out more about coverage options. TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048. Multilingual counseling is available.
- Reviewing the 2012 Medicare & You handbook. It is also accessible online at: https://www.medicare.gov/publications/pubs/pdf/10050.pdf -- and it has been mailed to the homes of people with Medicare.
- Getting one-on-one counseling assistance from the local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). Local SHIP contact information can be found:
People with Medicare who have limited incomes and resources may qualify for Extra Help paying for their prescription drug costs. There is no cost to apply for Extra Help, also called the low-income subsidy. Medicare beneficiaries, family members, trusted counselors or caregivers can apply online at www.socialsecurity.gov/prescriptionhelp or call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY users should call 1-800-325-0778) to find out more.
Protecting Against Fraud and Identity Theft
During this Open Enrollment Period, Medicare recommends that people treat their Medicare number as they do their social security number and credit card information. People with Medicare should never give their personal information to anyone arriving at their home uninvited or making unsolicited phone calls selling Medicare-related products or services. Beneficiaries who believe they are a victim of fraud or identity theft should contact Medicare (contact information above). More information is available at www.stopmedicarefraud.gov |
Asking for Answers with the Missouri River Working Group
On Wednesday, October 12, I joined my colleagues in the Missouri River Working Group in urging the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee to hold a hearing on the management of the Missouri River Mainstem Reservoir System. This summer saw record flooding throughout the Missouri River basin. President Obama issues Disaster Declarations in all seven Missouri river states, and more than twenty counties in the basin were deemed eligible for individual assistance through FEMA.
Flood control has to be a top priority for the Missouri River. Even now, the full damage assessment of this summer's events is ongoing. Farmland, homes, and businesses were destroyed. The damage and destruction will take years to repair and rebuild.
Many constituents have asked me about how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers goes about its decision-making process, its timeline, and what actions would be most prudent in the future. These are serious questions and they deserve answers. I am proud to work with fellow Missouri U.S. Reps. Blaine Luetkemeyer, Jo Ann Emerson, Todd Akin, Lacy Clay, Sam Graves, Russ Carnahan, Vicky Hartzler and Billy Long, along with Kansas U.S. Reps. Lynn Jenkins and Kevin Yoder, who all serve with me on the panel created by U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem of South Dakota.
We talked about many things, from civil rights, to education reform, to immigration, to civility in politics. My friend and colleague, Congressman Mike Simpson, do not always agree. But I hope he will forgive me for stealing his line of the night. He said, "If we cannot compromise, we cannot govern effectively." That, my friend, is a lesson for us all to learn, sooner rather than later.
Spreading Civility
This week, I began sharing a message of civility with my House colleagues. I hope to make this a habit, and I would also like to share the words I wrote, simple though they may be, with you.
Civility and being civil to each other should be important as we do our work in the House. Occasionally, I would like to share a civility thought with you. This week is my first endeavor. I hope you will reflect on my observations.
Over the past year or so, many TV commentators, clericals, and socio-political examiners have spoken about the fermenting fear among the American people. They fear, as the critique goes, that the economic downturn is permanent and that they and their children will have a lower standard of living than the previous generation.
My response is simply, the United States has nothing to fear, save the collapse of basic civility and human decency; the betrayal of the principles of political compromise; the rot of fact free civic debate; and the perversion of placing partisanship over problem-solving.
Follow me on Twitter!
You can now follow me @repcleaver. As always, I look forward to hearing from you.
Click here to add me >>> https://twitter.com/repcleaver
Emanuel Cleaver, II
Member of Congress
| |
|
|  |
| Kansas City Office
101 W 31st St.
Kansas City, MO 64108
Phone: 816-842-4545
Fax: 816-471-5215 | Independence Office
211 West Maple Avenue
Independence, MO 64050
Phone: 816-833-4545
Fax: 816-833-2991 | Washington Office
1433 Longworth HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-4535
Fax: 202-225-4403
|
|
|
| |
| | |
|
