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Medicare, Social Security event held

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By John Willard | Wednesday, August 02, 2006 | No comments posted

Citizens must take action collectively if they are to ensure that Social Security and Medicare function as they should in protecting retirement security, several community activists said Tuesday at a Davenport forum.

“We can only make change when our collective voices are heard,” the Rev. Jacque McCoy, the former executive director of Quad-Cities Interfaith and director of Monarch Enterprises, told about 60 people attending a forum sponsored by the Iowa Citizen Action Network. The program was held in conjunction with the Breakfast Club meetings conducted monthly at CASI, or the Center for Active Seniors Inc., Davenport.

The 90-minute session included remarks by a panel of community leaders and testimony from members of the audience. Several spoke of problems they have experienced with Medicare’s prescription drug plan, commonly known as Medicare Part D.

Of particular concern was a coverage gap known as the “doughnut hole,” which will force seniors to cover all their drug costs that exceed $2,250 a year. In addition, the plan was attacked as being confusing and complicated.

“Medicare Part D is unnecessarily complex and designed for the benefit of the pharmaceutical industry,” said Bob Osterhaus, a pharmacist and former member of the Iowa House of Representatives.

While Medicare prompted most of the discussion, preserving Social Security in its present form rather than “privatizing” it also came up. The Bush administration has proposed privatizing Social Security by diverting a portion of Social Security payroll taxes into individual private accounts that would be used to save for retirement.

The Rev. Ron Quay, executive director of Churches United of the Quad-City Area, said such a move is not in line with Judeo-Christian thinking.

“Privatization means that if I make a good investment, I take care of myself. If you don’t, too bad,” he said

Social Security, which was created in 1935 as earned insurance to guarantee economic security in retirement, is a program where all workers contribute, he said. “We need to help and support each other. We are a community of people who make it through this life together,” he said.

Other panelists included Jan Lawrence, senior advocacy coordinator for CASI, and TK Anderson, the director of the Davenport office of Communities United to Strengthen America, and the president of the Davenport branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

People attending were urged to have their photo taken at the session as part of the Iowa Citizen Action Network’s “Faces and Voices of the Future of Social Security.” The letter-writing campaign urges Iowa’s congressional delegation not to support any effort to privatize Social Security.

John Willard can be contacted at (563) 383-2314 or jwillard@qctimes.com.