Demonstrate against Medicare Privatization

Senior Action Network, Health Care for All -SF, San Francisco Gray Panthers, Greenlining Institute, Health Access, and Alliance for Retired Americans invite you and your organization to participate in demonstrations against privatizing Medicare in the guise of a phony prescription benefit.

Simultaneous demonstrations will be held at 12 Noon, on Tuesday, August 5, at California Senator Dianne Feinstein's offices in San Francisco (One Post St, at Market, Ste 2450), Los Angeles (11111 Santa Monica Blvd, Ste 915), San Diego (750 "B" St, Ste 1030), and Fresno (1130 "O" St., Ste 2446). We demand Sen. Feinstein filibuster against a Medicare restructuring measure being formulated by a Congressional House-Senate Conference Committee.

We can expect nothing good from this Conference Committee. As you know, both House and Senate versions endanger Medicare by giving competitive advantages to HMOs. Both versions allow drug companies to continue their inflated prices and profits. Both versions cover less than 25% of average yearly drug costs. Both versions make sick people pay a higher proportion of their drug costs than healthy people. Neither version protects retirees with company-sponsored drug coverage from being dropped. House Republicans already insist on allowing HMOs to draw healthy seniors into cut-rate private plans, leaving sick and frail patients in Medicare, which will have to charge higher premiums. Given this background and the composition of the Conference Committee, a filibuster in the Senate is the only way to stop passage of legislation that is a virtual death sentence for Medicare.

We are demonstrating at Sen. Feinstein's offices because she voted for the Senate version of the Prescription-Privatization legislation Although 37 other Senate Democrats have signed a letter opposing the worst aspects of the House and Senate bills, there is no assurance they will filibuster, and Sen. Feinstein has not even signed the letter.

With an aging population, and mounting unemployment, budget deficits, healthcare costs, and military spending, government is restructuring both Medicare and Medicaid to curb healthcare for seniors and disabled. Whose healthcare would be cut next? Where would it stop?

Sponsors of these demonstrations include San Francisco Gray Panthers, Senior Action Network, Health Care for All - SF, Greenlining Institute, Alliance for Retired Americans, and Health Access.

Contact information for the various demonstrations:

San Francisco:
Michael Lyon, Gray Panthers, 415-215-7575,
or Bruce Livingston, Senior Action Network, 415-546-1334
Los Angeles: Idabelle Fosse, Health Access, 213-748-5287 ext 229
San Diego: Charlie Williams, Alliance for Retired Americans, 858-735-8064 Fresno: Jessica Rothhaar, Health Access, 510-873-8787 ext. 107

For a one-page piece on the dangers of the pending Medicare legislation: http://home.attbi.com/~mlyon01/articles/medpriv.htm