Updates to the 2010 American Seniors Association Presidential Report Card

[Updated Last: September 14, 2010]

Health Care

Health Care Fact 3: He promises that no individual will lose their ability to choose their own doctor.  
 
Update on Health Care Fact 3: Recent reports show around 3 million seniors may be forced to switch Medicare prescription plans this year, potentially undercutting President Obama's promise to seniors who want to keep their current health plans and doctors. The president has continuously informed seniors that they will be able to keep their current plans if they want to keep them and use the same doctors as they are using now, but for nearly 3.7 million Medicare beneficiaries this may not be the case. The number of Medicare plans will be reduced significantly to offer more simplified, "less confusing" plans by the government. The list of plans is expected to be released by the end of September. Medicare officials have chosen to dance around the comment about premiums going up, but ASA is going to predict the rates of premiums will increase (FoxNews, 2010b). 
 
Health Care Fact 6: He promised to close the "donut hole" in Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan... 
 
Update on Health Care Fact 6: The mailings of the $250 checks to Medicare beneficiaries who fall in the coverage gap already began for the 2010 year, as mentioned in the original report card. But the status of the checks is currently this: 750,000 checks were mailed during the summer, and 3 million-plus will be mailed throughout the remainder of the year. Read ASA's recent press release, Democrats feeling desperate to reach out to seniors, to learn more on the subject of closing up the "donut hole" within Medicare. 
 
Health Care Fact 7: He promised to eliminate extra payments for Medicare Advantage after discussing how wasteful the program is during his presidential campaign.

Update on Health Care Fact 7: Individuals enrolled in Medicare Advantage will soon have no option but to switch from Medicare Advantage to the traditional Medicare program. As of January 1, 2010 individuals with a Medicare Advantage plan with have a 45-day open enrollment period to return to traditional, fee-for service program. Medicare Advantage users will no longer be able to switch from one Advantage plan to another. It has been reported that when switching from Medicare Advantage to traditional Medicare, seniors will be paying much higher subsidies to cover Medigap coverage. Further, chief actuary of the Medicare service at the American Enterprise Institute finds that many hospitals and nursing homes will withdraw from Medicare services because of the low reimbursement rate (Wallace, 2010).  
 
Health Care Fact 10: He promised to expand eligibility to Medicaid. While Medicaid has primarily covered children, pregnant women, and the disabled in the past, it will soon cover anyone under the age of 65 whose income falls within a certain range of the federal poverty level (up to 133 percent).  
 
Update on Health Care Fact 10: On August 10, 2010 the House of Representatives passed the new bill that includes $26.1 billion to advance Medicaid. $10 billion will be used to bolster school budgets and $16 billion will be used to help states suffering from deficits resulting from the shortfall of Medicaid funding. The health care money comes in the form of matching funds for Medicaid services. The funding is supposed to help in preventing the predicted layoffs of 300,000 local and state government workers, including teachers, police officers, and fire fighters. However, many are questioning the funding and how it will actually be dispersed among states. There has been much controversy over the future $12 billion cut in food stamps to fund the new bill (Goodwin, 2010).

Homeland Security

Homeland Security Fact 6:His 2010 budget for strengthening border security and immigration services allocated $368 million for existing Customs and Border Protection, $1.4 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement programs, $110 million to continue expansion of E-Verify, and additional allocations for strengthening the delivery of immigration services such as the application process (OMB, 2010, p. 71-72). 

Update on Homeland Security Fact 6: According to "Company Audits Up, Illegal Arrests Way Down Since 2008," only 900 illegal workers have been arrested. Under the Bush administration in 2008 nearly 6,000 workers were arrested and deported. This years numbers account for a nearly 80 percent decrease since the last year of the Bush administration. In place of business raids, the Obama administration has been focusing on business audits. The administration believes that these audits will be a powerful force of dissuading illegal immigrants of coming here in hopes of finding jobs. Change is inevitable when something isn't working efficiently or at all, but why change a practice (raiding businesses in search of illegal immigrants) that seems to have a successful record? The alternative the Obama administration is using seems to be counterproductive (FoxNews, 2010a). 

Update on Homeland Security Fact 6: On August 12, Congress passed a measure that will boost border security. The measure allocates $600 million to border security and is seen by President Obama and his administration as a step toward a safer and better protected border. The hefty sum of money for this measure is coming from an increase of fines for technology companies that hire highly skilled workers from overseas. This fine will not only provide funding for the new bill but it will also encourage companies to hire U.S. workers instead. The extra funding will go toward hiring more border guards, increasing the number of federal agents, and increasing the number of unmanned drones that patrol the border (Raice, S. & Boles, C., 2010).  

Military

Military Fact 2: He promises to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011, while continuing to focus on the war in Afghanistan.  

Update on Military Fact 2: It appears that the last U.S. combat brigades were removed from Iraq on Thursday, August 19, after the troops crossed the border into Kuwait.  According to NBC's Richard Engel, "The final convoy of the Army's 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Lewis, Wash., began entering Kuwait about 1:30 a.m. (6:30 p.m. Wednesday ET), carrying the last of the 14,000 U.S. combat forces in Iraq." Although all U.S. combat troops were removed, the official end of combat operations in Iraq in August 31, 2010. This is a promise kept for President Obama (NBCNews, 2010).  

It was reported on August 25 that in the midst of troops being removed from Iraq, an increased amount of violence is occurring in the nation by al-Qaida. An article titled "Iraq Attacks Show al-Qaida Remains a Threat" found on the Department of Defense website, http://www.defense.gov/, quotes, '"We haven't seen these types of attacks since May 10,' Army Maj. Gen. Stephen R. Lanza said in a telephone interview from Baghdad. 'This shows there is still capability with al-Qaida here to conduct operations. It also shows their intent or desire to try to reinsert themselves, which they have had trouble doing in the past.'"  
On August 31, 2010 President Obama addressed our nation on the situation in Iraq, as well as on the situation in Afghanistan and the broader war on terror from the Oval Office. You can watch the video of the president's address within this CBSNews article.  
 
Update on Military Fact 2: A report released by Fox News on August 30 describes the situation in Iraq as U.S. withdraws troops. According to audits from a U.S. watchdog agency, it appears that more than $5 billion of American taxpayer money has been wasted on reconstruction in Iraq. The U.S. will leave behind 100-plus abandoned or incomplete projects as it withdraws troops from from the nation. Read Watchdog Agency: U.S. Wasted Billions in Rebuilding Iraq to learn more about the wasted funds. 
 

Economy

Economy Fact 5: He promises to spur growth by creating jobs in the private sector. It has been reported that over half a million private sector jobs have been created since January 2010. Much of his promise relies on triggering investment in small businesses, which are the businesses that are more likely to hire unemployed workers.  
 
Update on Economy Fact 5: The month of July showed growth within the private-sector, but at a slower rate than they originally expected. The Department of Labor reported a private-sector payroll increase of 71,000 in July. There was a deceleration going into the summer, as reported in the original report card, so at least some progress is being made. Growth is growth to some, but many officials are still concerned that growth is not where it needs to be. The current rate of growth shows that employers are still reluctant to hire new workers during this time of economic recession (Reedy, 2010).  
 
Economy Fact 6: He promises to stabilize the housing market by reforming the regulatory system and increasing credit flow. The reform will prevent more foreclosures and help millions of Americans refinance their homes at low mortgage rates. 
 
Update on Economy Fact 6: July was the worst month to date for new home sales and the worst in 15 years for previously occupied homes. The situation is said to only be worsening. "The supply of unsold homes on the market keeps getting bigger. At the same time, the growing number of foreclosures keeps pushing down home prices and scaring potential buyers and sellers from the market" (Rugaber, C. & Zibel, A., 2010). At this point, it is certain that the housing market is only going to further slow economic growth. The problem seems to lie in people unable to pay their mortgages. About 1 in 10 people have missed at least one mortgage payment, which can be attributed for many to the lack of jobs. Obama promised to help homeowners reduce the risk of foreclosure by lowering their monthly mortgage payments, yet reports to date are showing that nearly half of the 1.3 million individuals who applied for Obama's administration program were abandoned and paying or owe even higher fees since enrollment in the program.  

Energy Fact 1: President Obama promises to invest in alternative and renewable energy, as America has relied on foreign oil for far too long, and as the conditions of the environment are affecting the economy, our health, and the future. 
 
Update Energy Fact 1: Officials in Washington are betting that Congress will not pass any major legislation from now until Election Day, especially after the Democrats failed to pass an energy bill in August that aimed to improve drilling safety and ensure that companies cover the cost of oil spills. However, some officials have high hopes for Congress when it returns next month. Officials from both sides of the political spectrum have expressed that the Senate could find support of a federal renewable energy standard during the lame-duck session.  

A few officials have what many would term “unrealistic” hopes for Congress during the lame-duck session. Carol Browner, the White House's top energy and climate adviser, believes that there is still a possibility of passing a controversial bill that includes the cap-and-trade during the lame-duck session. From what ASA can see, there is definite GOP opposition, as well as uncertainty among many Democrats who have expressed the need for more discussion. It will all depend on the extent of the legislation (Ferrichio, 2010). 
 
 

Resources

Ferrechio, S. (2020, September 1). Dems may push back lame-duck energy bill. Retrieved on September 10. 2010, from Click for Link.

FoxNews. (2010a). Company Audits Up, Illegal Worker Arrests Way Down Since 2008.  Retrieved August 28, 2010, from Click for Link.

FoxNews. (2010b). New Medicare rule means more than 3M seniors may have to switch drug plans next year. Retrieved August 25, 2010, from Click for Link.

Luhby, T. (2010, August 11). House gives needy states $26 billion for Medicaid, teachers. Retrieved on August 14, 2010, from Click for Link.

NBCNews. (2010, August 18). Last full U.S. combat brigade leaves Iraq. Retrieved August 18, 2010 from, Click for Link.

Raice, S. & Boles, C. (2010, August 12). Obama: Border Security Bill Will Help Overhaul of Immigration. Retrieved August 26, 2010 from Click for Link.

Reedy, Sudeep. (2010). Job Growth Remains Slow in Private Sector. Retrieved August 26, 2010, from Clink for Link.

Rugaber, C. and Zibel, A. (2010, August 26). Scarcity of jobs puts more at risk of foreclosure. Retrieved on August 26, 2010, from Click for Link.

Wallace, C. (2010, August 3). Medicare Reform Means Some Seniors Face Benefits Cuts. Retrieved on August 25, 2010, from Click for Link.