RetireSafe is also listed as a sponsor of Bob Dole on Medicare , an educational effort headed by former U. Senator and presidential candidate Bob Dole. Other participating groups included such conservative mainstays as the National Taxpayers Union , the industry-funded Citizens Against Government Waste , the Heritage Foundation think tank , the libertarian Cato Institute think tank, the American Conservative Union , the pharmaceutical front group 60 Plus Association , the conservative, pro-industry United Seniors Association , and the conservative think tank Frontiers of Freedom , among others, according to the ATR press release announcing the event.
In a January 23, "open letter" to the U. Senate, RetireSafe president Charles Hardin urged Senators "not to co-sponsor or vote for the irresponsible Medicare prescription drug bill submitted by Senator Daschle , S. RetireSafe also commended the drug company GlaxoSmithKline for its "courageous stance in favor of protecting older Americans from the dangerous and illegally re-imported pharmaceuticals coming across the border from Canada.
RetireSafe also worked with the drug company Pfizer to co-sponsor the "Bob Dole on Medicare" effort described above. Navigation menu Personal tools Log in. Namespaces Page Discussion. Learn about upcoming legislation, laws and what our elected officials are working on. To the Committee:. RetireSafe is an organization whose mission is to educate and advocate on behalf of older Americans on issues including Social Security, Medicare, health, safe retirement, and financial well-being.
Currently there are nearly 70 million Americans over the age of Due to immune system decline as part of aging as well as the prevalence of chronic disease comorbidities, many of them are particularly vulnerable to infectious disease such as influenza, pneumococcal pneumonia and, of course COVID Vaccines for these and other conditions can truly be a matter of life or death and we are grateful for the continued work by ACIP to evaluate and approve critical vaccines for COVID RetireSafe has a long history of informing and educating American seniors of the important role vaccines play in maintaining our long-term health.
Our members are committed to taking the steps necessary to protect against preventable illnesses and represent the largest sector of Americans by age to have taken the COVID vaccine with 89 percent of those 65 and older having received at least one dose, compared with 68 percent for people ages 18 to While we are encouraged by the progress made toward vaccinating older Americans against COVID 19, we are increasingly concerned that experts are predicting the flu and pneumonia season to be more serious than last year, now that states across the country are relaxing COVID 19 restrictions.
It was recently announced that the FDA has approved two new and improved vaccines for pneumonia. These new vaccines offer hope of even greater protection against a life-threatening disease for some of the most vulnerable in our population. We have recently heard from several senior Americans who have reached out specifically calling for expedited access to these new vaccines. One such individual is Joe Velasquez who is a year-old diabetic living in San Antonio.
Joe wrote that he is not only concerned about protecting himself, but also his family members including his daughter who suffers from ALS and her husband who has severe asthma. Planning ahead long before the October meeting, would make more sense and ultimately save many more lives.
We have included below the most recent letters we have received from seniors for your reference, and we hope their voices, and those of thousands more across the country for whom we represent, will be heard. We greatly appreciate all of the hard work by this committee to expedite access to critical COVID vaccines for all Americans, but especially those most vulnerable to serious illness and death. Gearing Up for Pneumonia and Flu season.
While many of us may still be enjoying the summer weather and vacations spent with family, it is never too early to start preparing for flu and pneumonia season. Especially during this time when so many medical offices are still trying to handle the influx in patient visits due to COVID, making an appointment now will help you to avoid long wait times come fall. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services CMS offer several helpful resources that provide thorough overviews of the latest prevention services covered by Medicare.
You can find an interactive chart broken out by key services here or a helpful guide to utilizing your Medicare benefits here. You may be surprised at all of the services that are covered including screenings, counseling, wellness visits and of course vaccinations.
Additionally, researchers are still working to understand the long-term impacts of COVID on lung health and this potential impact could contribute to an increase in hospitalizations due to pneumonia.
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