New Mexico State Senator Dede Feldman's Blog

Bill's Medicare Reforms will Help—Not Hurt-- Seniors while Controlling Costs

There’s been lots of action lately on health care reform, with the House passing its bill, endorsed by the AMA and AARP—in spite of the increasingly intense protests from Republicans, tea baggers, insurance companies, and pharmaceutical companies.  The latter two have been hedging their bets over the past six months to make sure that they get something out of the deal.  A front page story in the New York Times recently detailed how the drug companies have been increasing their prices in the past six months in anticipation of a requirement to discount prices. 

 The latest misinformation is that the House bill (which is different from Reed's Senate  bill) will hike costs and hurt seniors.   The Albuquerque Journal has picked up the mantra and earlier this week editorialized against health reform (again).  I’ve been in pretty constant communication with Sen. Bingaman’s office on this and here’s what I’ve learned about the Senate Finance Committee bill’s effect on seniors and the savings to be garnered through Medicare reform. Much of Reed's bill is patterned after Finance's.

            •There will be no Medicare benefit cuts for seniors

•The “donut hole” will be closed so the 27,500 New Mexicans who fall into it  will first see their costs cut in half then ultimately pay nothing

• The bill will extend the solvency of the Medicare trust fund by five years

•Subsidies to private Medicare Advantage plans will be reduced, as they are draining the regular Medicare program, and not always providing the additional benefits, as promised. Medicare Advantage enrollees here, will probably continue to be able to choose from generous benefit packages,Bingaman predicts, although the companies will now have to compete in places like Florida, New York and Massachusetts where the bulk of the savings will come from.

•Without reform, providers will see a 21.6% cut in Medicare payments next year—greater than the bills opponents (who, incidentally, supported these cuts in the Senate) are complaining about

•Co-pays for preventive care will be reduced and seniors will also benefit from an overall shift to preventive and primary care, better funding for community health centers, medical homes and some of the alternatives we have pioneered in New Mexico to put the patient-- and not the procedure-- first.

For these any other reasons AARP endorsed the House bill and today put out a release congratulating the Senate as it heads into its debate this month.  Stay tuned to C-Span for the blow-by blow, there will certainly be lots of amendments.  I did this for the House debate and it was amazing. To weigh in on bill or amendments  contact:

 http://tomudall.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm

 http://bingaman.senate.gov/contact/types/email-issue.cfm

 

    

 

Cement - Now it's 'What's for Dinner'

This information comes from Kyle Silfer - President, Greater Gardner Neighborhood Association.  If you'd like to support their efforts consider going to the December 9th meeting or donating to their fund (See Below.)
--- Dede Feldman

On September 15, the American Cement facility at Griegos and the railroad tracks got the green light from the city-county Air Quality Division to operate 24/7 and to more than quadruple emissions to 19 tons of total suspended particulates per year. For decades this facility has been a bad neighbor, constantly violating its existing permit with fugitive cement dust that ends up in the yards, houses and lungs of people who live, work and attend school nearby. At two public information hearings this summer, residents asked the Division to do the right thing and deny the permit, or at the very least to install fence-line monitoring to ensure that the permit conditions were being met. The Division did neither.

On November 2, the Greater Gardner Neighborhood Association and the North Valley Coalition filed a petition to appeal the permit before the Air Quality Control Board. The hearing is a legal procedure requiring legal representation. The law firm of Nancy L. Simmons, who successfully argued an environmental justice appeal before the NM Supreme Court, is willing to represent the community, but in order for this to happen, we need funds. Costs are likely to be in the range of $5000-$15000. We desperately need more donations for this appeal to move forward.

The legal fund has a web page that allows donations by credit card or via an existing Paypal account.
We will also gladly accept checks made out to
Greater Gardner Neighborhood Association and mailed to:

Greater Gardner Neighborhood Association
c/o Kyle Silfer,
4465 Jupiter St NW,
Albuquerque NM 87107

Here's the donation page link (which also has a comprehensive archive of American Cement media coverage):

http://macmountain.org/ggna/cement.php

The city's answer to the appeal concludes with a request to dismiss the appeal petition with prejudice. At the December 9 Air Quality Control Board meeting, the Board could decide that a hearing is not warranted.  This meeting will be held in the Council Chambers in the basement of City Hall at 5:30pm. Show your support for the appeal by attending the meeting!

ABQ Kids and Aldo Leopold: Here's Hope for the Environment

    Hundreds of Albuquerque kids who celebrated conservationist Aldo Leopold this month have given me new hope for the environment in their endangered lifetimes. First, a play at the Manzano Mesa Multi Generational Center in October re-enacted Leopold's classic New Mexico essay "Thinking Like a Mountain."  The performance was held on Worldwide Climate Action Day, and was part of 4,500 rallies in 170 nations. 350 is the logo for this action because 350 ppm CO2 is the safe upper limit for the atmosphere according to the latest scientific data.     

    Also here is the winning essay in the statewide Aldo Leopold contest, written by Zena Stevenson, an 8th grader from Eagle Nest Middle School.

    Dear Mr. Leopold,

I really enjoyed reading your essays. They go very deep and leave you thinking for hours afterwards. I believe that the theme of these essays and of A Sand County Almanac – ‘land ethic’ – is still very important. Land ethic makes me think first of connections – with animals and plants all around us, and each other. Connections like those are always important. Life today is pretty crazy – all hustle-bustle and rushing around. In all that chaos, we can sometimes forget to slow down and remember where it all comes from and remember other parts of the land around us. It is always important, no matter how high- tech and busy the age happens to be, to listen and watch for little things – like connections – like a howling wolf or a baby tree or the distant winds on the mountaintops.

As an example, say someone is building a house. It’s a still, warm desert evening and a dry wind rolls lazily across the butte. As the last worker puts down his shovel, the far-off yip of a coyote flies across the mesa. The worker’s head turns automatically towards the lonely sounds, and he isn’t thinking of the job or of dinner at home. His thoughts are with the coyote, and he is imagining its life on the dusty butte among the yucca and cactus, running under the hot sun and clear stars. And he looks down at the shovel in his hand and thinks, what might that coyote think of this?

That is land ethic to me – stopping to think about the other parts of your environment, to care for them and share life with them. We are part of a bigger picture of life, and disregarding the other parts is a huge mistake. Land ethic is about balance and respect, connection and vision. That is always important, whether it’s yesterday, today, tomorrow, or fifty years from next week.

Thank you for your wonderful ideas, and I look forward to finishing A Sand County Almanac.

Your Friend,

Zena Stevenson Grade: 8 School: Eagle Nest Middle School Teacher: Janet Martin Hometown: Red River, NM

First Place Award: Grade 8-9 Category

 

Recent Polling Data on Sin Tax and Corporate Loophole Tax Revenue

  A recent poll taken by Research and Polling for the American Federation of Teachers has 70 percent of registered voters sampled in favor of raising taxes on alcohol and tobacco, 61 percent supporting closing loopholes for corporations that don't pay state taxes on New Mexico profits and 49 per cent for repealing tax cuts for New Mexicans earning $295,000 or more a year. 81% felt the state should balance its budget without cutting public school funding.

_ _The poll has received no coverage from the state's major daily and I only knew about it because its results were handed out to me in person by a teacher on opening day of the recent legislative session.

 

  Soon I'll be doing my own survey, where I'll invite comments on matters like these. Meanwhile, if you want to comment to the Governor on the budget and cuts go to special.session@state.nm.us. Or tell the Lt. Governor, Diane Denish, how we can make state government more efficient at this hotline: 505- 750-4684.

 

  Thanks to those of your who contacted me during the special session as we made some of these heart-wrenching decisions. I appreciate your support, your input, and the opportunity to represent District 13 in the Senate.

 

---  Senator Dede Feldman