Blog
December 08, 2022
Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans Media Mentions Dec 8
Arizona Alliance Mentions
Hobbs’ office sends criminal referral on 2 Cochise County supervisors
Mary Jo Pitzl
Arizona Republic, December 2, 2022
Two Cochise County Supervisors knowingly violated state law and should be investigated for potential criminal and civil offenses, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs’ office stated. The Arizona Alliance lawsuit is mentioned.
Arizona’s Cochise County finally certifies its election results after a court order
Hansi Lo Wang
CAP Radio (NPR-Sacramento), Dec. 1, 2022
Under a court order, officials in Cochise County, Ariz., finally certified their local midterm elections results after they missed the state’s legal deadline and put more than 47,000 people’s votes at risk. The Arizona Alliance lawsuit is mentioned.
Other stories about the Arizona Alliance:
Secretary of State’s Office confirms it has received Cochise County certification (Arizona Republic, Dec. 1) – also at Yahoo News, Dec. 2)
Cochise County certifies election results after judge orders canvass (Tucson Sentinel, Dec. 1 and Arizona Daily Sun, Dec. 1)
Midterm Elections: Republican-held Arizona County Finally Certifies Election Results After Judge’s Order (Latin Post, Dec. 1)
Arizona County Still Hasn’t Certified Its Midterm Results—Here’s Why It Could Cost Republicans A House Seat (Forbes, Dec. 1)
Other Alliance Mentions
Massachusetts Retirees United to hold quarterly meeting
Cameron Morsberger
Lowell Sun, December 5, 2022
Massachusetts Retirees United, currently working to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset, will hold a meeting that includes information from the Alliance.
Pensions
Biden to announce $36 billion in relief for major pension fund to avoid benefit cuts
Brett Samuels
The Hill, Dec. 8, 2022
President Biden on Thursday will announce $36 billion in financial relief to stave off pension cuts for thousands of union workers.
Prescription Drugs
Paxlovid Has Been Free So Far. Next Year, Sticker Shock Awaits.
Hannah Recht
Kaiser Health News, Dec. 7, 2022
The government plans to stop footing the bill for Paxlovid, which has helped prevent many people infected with covid-19 from being hospitalized or dying, within months, meaning millions of the uninsured and seniors may soon have to pay the full price.
Social Security
Social Security offices critical to disability benefits hit breaking point
Lisa Rein
The Washington Post, Dec. 5, 2022
State operations that review claims face massive backlogs, leaving disabled Americans waiting months and even years for judgments.
Lawmakers decry massive backlog in Social Security disability claims
Lisa Rein
The Washington Post, December 7, 2022
Top House and Senate Democrats called for a drastic boost in funding for SSA to increase staffing, improve technology and expand other investments as the agency confronts a massive backlog in claims for disability benefits.
Seniors’ Housing
As Gen X and Boomers Age, They Confront Living Alone
Dana Goldstein and Robert Gebeloff
The New York Times, Nov. 27, 2022
More older Americans are living by themselves than ever before. That shift presents issues on housing, health care and personal finance.
Assisted living too often fails older, sicker residents, report says
Judith Graham
The Washington Post, Dec. 3, 2022
Assisted-living communities too often fail to meet the needs of older people and should focus more on residents’ medical and mental health concerns, according to a recent report by a diverse panel of experts.
Debt Limit
Kevin McCarthy faces debt-limit dilemma as House GOP ratchets up demands amid speaker bid
Manu Raju and Melanie Zanona
CNN, Dec. 6, 2022
Some moderate Republicans have expressed uneasiness over using the debt ceiling as a bargaining chip, risking both a catastrophic default and the political blame, especially if Republicans push for cuts to Medicare and Social Security.
Politics
Warnock defeats Walker, giving Democrats 51-49 majority in Senate
Greg Bluestein and Shannon McCaffrey
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dec. 6, 2022
Warnock cast a deciding vote for major administration initiatives, including a health care bill that included his provision to cap insulin prices for those on Medicare, but he highlighted many of his disagreements with the president during the campaign.
Medicare
If you think health care is dysfunctional now, just wait until after January 1
Greg Jasani
Stat News, Dec. 8, 2022
Doctors across the country, especially those in primary care, have been up in arms about Medicare’s proposed cuts in reimbursement that are scheduled to go into effect on January 1. The cuts could compromise the care they can provide to their patients.
Health Care
Alzheimer’s APOE4 Genetic Risk Targeted in Promising Trial
Gina Kolata
The New York Times, Dec. 2, 2022
Preliminary results offer hope that gene therapy can protect some people with Alzheimer’s disease driven by a particular gene variant.
Around 5.5 million people have signed up for 2023 Obamacare plans
Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by Andrea Ricci
Reuters, Dec. 7, 2022
Nearly 5.5 million Americans so far have signed up for health insurance for next year through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace, an 18% increase over the same period last year, according to data released by HHS.