A growing number of Americans do not have insurance coverage for prescription medicines and other health care services. U.S. Census Bureau data shows that 45 million Americans were uninsured in 2003, up from 43.6 million in 2002.

America's pharmaceutical companies and the doctors, nurses, pharmacists, patient advocates and community groups have recently built a coalition, called "The Partnership for Prescription Assistance," to create an unprecedented new national program to help millions of qualifying patients who do not have prescription coverage get the medicines they need through the public or private program that's right for them. Through a toll free number (1-888-4PPA-NOW) and a website (www.pparx.org), the Partnership for Prescription Assistance provides a single point of access to more than 275 public and private patient assistance programs that can help uninsured patients afford the prescription medicine they need. Patients can access Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, brand pharmaceutical company programs and generic pharmaceuticals through the PPA. Its mission is to increase awareness of patient assistance programs and boost enrollment for those who may be eligible. The National Grange is one of the original national partners in the Partnership for Prescription Assistance.

Dick Weiss, COO of the National Grange & Jennifer Raviv of PhRMA in front of the PPA "Help is Here" Express bus

Since the PPA launched on April 5th, more than 180,000 people have been matched to patient assistance programs through the help of the PPA. Much of the help focuses on the most fiscally reasonable plan for each individual, but continuity of treatment is also stressed regarding each individual's health plan, meaning, for example, that someone taking generic drugs will not be pushed toward health coverage that only offers name brands. Also, none of the programs presented by the PPA are connected to specific drug store chains.

Rural areas are some of the most challenging places for the PPA to reach eligible patients. The National Grange, representing rural citizens, is strongly supporting the PPA for this reason. "Rural residents, who generally have lower incomes than urban dwellers, spend a higher proportion of personal income on prescription drug coverage than the urban residents. The higher proportion of out-of-pocket prescription drug costs among rural working families increases the risk that they will either neglect their medications or take lower dosages," said Bill Steel, President of the National Grange.

During the first week of May, the PPA launched its "Help is Here" Express bus tour in Washington, DC to help make enrollment easier - with ten computers and six phones in the bus that allow people to sign up on-site. Dick Weiss, COO of the National Grange, was on hand for the launch and expressed his excitement about the partnership between the Grange and the PPA when he said, "the Grange will do all it can to help the Partnership for Prescription Assistance reach rural Americans who need a helping hand with their prescription drug costs. The 'Help is Here' Express bus tour is a great idea and we are going to guide it down some country roads this spring and summer". Starting in the Northeast this outreach program will be heading down South and eventually traveling across the country. For more information about the PPA's "Help is Here" Express bus regarding its schedule and location, contact Tori Davis at 202-778-1479.

The 109th Congress is pushing hard the Perkins Reauthorization legislation with overwhelming bipartisanship even though the Bush Administration called for eliminating the Perkins Act to expand mandatory No Child Left Behind testing into the nation's high schools. The National Grange applauds the House passage of H.R. 366, the Vocational and Technical Education for the Future Act on May 4, by a 416-9 vote, to continue the federal funding for career and technical education through the Perkins Act. The Senate approved earlier its version of the Perkins reauthorization, S 250, in March by a unanimous floor vote of 99-0. Now Congress is working on a conference committee to reconcile the differences between the two bills.

Through the annual appropriations of the Perkins Act, federal funding for the agricultural career and technical education flows to state programs. "With funding allocated through the Perkins Act, states are able to support programs providing rural students at the secondary and post-secondary levels with both strong academic and advanced technical skills necessary to be successful in a "real world" context," the National Grange President Bill Steel said. "Rural schools under pressure to close or consolidate due to loss of population and lack of financial support have extreme difficulty offering advanced academic or vocational courses. Continued vocational education funding to rural schools through the Perkins Act is a fundamental resource to sustain and grow rural communities."

The National Grange has been advocating the Perkins reauthorization since the 108th Congress and its policy says: "The National Grange supports the federal government's continued investment in career technical education by reauthorizing the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 8."

Social Security needs to change to keep up with the times. In the 1930s the average person lived to about age 70 and the original Social Security plan envisioned that a person would pay into Social Security for about 45 years and then collect benefits for about five years. However, people who are receiving Social Security benefits today were not born when the original Social Security law was passed. People still pay into Social Security throughout their working lives, but it is now common for retirees to collect benefits for 25 years or more. Changes have also been made over the years to provide benefits to people who have not reached normal retirement age but are unable to work due to injuries, extended sickness and other disabilities. Social Security needs to be revised to account for these changes. The big question is not IF but HOW Social Security should be changed.

The proposal that is receiving the most attention right now is to allow workers to put part of their Social Security contributions in private accounts rather than letting the Social Security Administration handle everything. The proponents claim this will allow workers to get a better return on their contributions than the present plan. The opponents claim this is riskier than the government obligations where the money is now invested. To a certain extent, both are right.

A basic principle of the financial world is that investors demand a higher return on riskier investments. How much risk one is willing to take in hopes of a greater return varies from person to person. Allowing people to direct their Social Security contributions into various investments means that some people will put everything into very safe investments that will provide a low rate of return that may not keep up with inflation while others will direct their contributions to investments that they believe will provide greater returns in exchange for the risk that their investments will actually decrease in value.

One proposal that is being discussed would allow workers to direct part of their Social Security contributions into various investments while the remainder would be invested as it is now. When a person retired, their guaranteed Social Security benefits would be reduced according to the portion of their contributions they directed into the other investments. The retiree would then withdraw from their other Social Security investments as they saw fit. Other proposals are being discussed, including mandatory private savings or investment accounts, increases in Social Security taxes, reductions in retirees benefits and increasing the age to collect full benefits.

The ultimate question is how much responsibility each individual should take to provide for themselves. Some people believe Social Security should provide a very minimal guaranteed benefit and let workers provide for their own retirement while others believe the government should provide everything for everyone. A major problem is that some people are very capable of providing for their own retirement while others lack the basic ability to manage money. This is a case where one program does not fit all situations. How can one government program be made flexible enough to cover all these situations? If you know the answer, there are a lot of government officials in Washington who would love to hear from you.

The National Grange Legislative Department presents a new, exciting program called, Policy Discussion Room. Policy Discussion Room is an online discussion board on National Grange's website. Any Grange member can discuss issues of concern to Grange members across the nation by posting their comments, suggestions or feedback in the Policy Discussion Room. The Policy Discussion Room opens on Monday, May 30, 2005.

The Policy Discussion Room features two different discussion areas. The first area is called "Hot Topics" for discussion about current issues that affect family farmers and rural America. The "Hot Topics" area will be updated weekly with a new discussion topic pulled directly from newspaper headlines or TV news. The second discussion area is "Grange Policy," in which Grange members have the opportunity to review and discuss any or all of the more than 1,000 existing National Grange Legislative policies. All of the existing National Grange policies are posted in the Grange Policy discussion area. The Grange Policy area is organized using the same format as the 2005 National Grange Legislative Policies book. There are six sub-areas for National Grange policies related to Agriculture, Citizenship and Public Affairs, Conservation and Natural Resources, Education and Health, Labor and Judiciary, and Taxation and Transportation. Within each of these sub-areas, the policies are broken down into sub-headings that correspond with the sub-headings in the 2005 Policy Book.

Views and opinions posted on the Policy Discussion Room will be important references in shaping the Grange's legislative policies. They might give additional information to National and State Grange delegates about the wishes and intentions of our members regarding existing Grange policy as well as new issues that require the Grange's attention. However, the Policy Discussion Room will be used only on an advisory basis. Changes, amendments or additions to National Grange legislative policy can still only come through resolutions submitted through local and State Granges and with the affirmative vote of the National Grange Delegates.

MI State Grange Legislative Day participants on State Capitol

On May 11, twenty-seven Grange members from all corners of Michigan took part in the 2nd Annual Michigan State Grange Legislative Day in Lansing, MI. Planning the day's events, which were held inside the Capitol Building, took a combined effort by Bob Brown, Legislative Director of the Michigan State Grange, and Rick Shaffer, State Representative from Michigan's 59th District. As they arrived, Grange members were provided copies of the National Grange's "Blueprint For Rural America 2005", 10-point plan for the legislative priorities of the National Grange for 2005, along with copies of the Michigan State Grange Legislative Policy and the National Grange Legislative Policy Book, to use throughout the day. Many Legislators took the time to stop by and address Grange members as the group visited both Chambers of the State Legislature. Several State Representatives came up from the floor of the House into the gallery area to meet with specific Grange members from their district.

The hot issue of the day was the Governor's upcoming budget proposal that is said to slash greatly the funding for Michigan State University Extension Service and the Agricultural Research Stations around the state. This issue was discussed at length with several Legislators throughout the day and they urged the Michigan State Grange to take the leadership again in voicing the concerns about the proposed funding cuts with a letter writing campaign. Among other topics discussed were the future of the Retired Educators Pension Fund, the proposed designation of funding for the Broadband Development Authority to provide financial assistance to underserved rural areas, and Governor Granholm's seeming lack of concern for the agricultural industry in Michigan.

As a result of the successes of the first two legislative days, planning for the 3rd Annual Michigan State Grange Legislative Day in 2006 has already begun. Grange members in Michigan really do have a voice, all they need to do is use it - the Annual Michigan State Grange Legislative Day will continue to give them a great opportunity to let their voice be heard.

On May 13th, National Grange Legislative Director Leroy Watson was invited to participate in a taped interview with Dr. Mark McClellan, the Administrator of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Systems (CMS) to present the Grange's perspectives on successful outreach and education efforts to seniors regarding the new Medicare Part D (prescription drug) benefit. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the federal agency that manages all Medicare and Medicaid programs. The Grange was invited to share its experiences with Dr. McClellan as a result of the National Grange's highly successful outreach and education efforts to rural seniors concerning the interim Medicare prescription drug benefit card program. Other participants discussing successful outreach programs with Dr. McCllean were Reverend Cessar Scott, Executive Minister of the Baptist General Convention of Virginia and Ms. Anita de Palma, the Director of Florida's League of United Latin American Citizens.

Highlights of the panel discussion were used in an informational Internet broadcast that was shown on May 19th, 2005. The web-cast production targeted non-profit, community based groups that have direct contact with seniors through out the nation. Its purpose was to explain innovative techniques in order to better educate seniors on their new rights, obligations and benefits under the Medicare Part D program.

Medicare Part D takes affect on January 1st, 2006, and will provide direct government assistance to help senior citizens buy prescription drugs at affordable prices. Much of the discussion with Administrator McClellan focused on how organizations, like the Grange, were successful in circulating valuable information to seniors in the past. Each of the participants brought a unique perspective on the best methods of reaching out to the elderly groups in their communities. Mr. Scott talked about "informational Sunday's" where brochures were passed out and the Pastors in each church spoke of important issues concerning their members. Ms. de Palma stressed presenting information to all members of the family, and the importance of grassroots.

Leroy Watson, Legislative Director of the National Grange, spoke about the Grange's effectiveness in reaching out to seniors in rural areas. Mr. Watson spoke about the high percentage of our nation's seniors who already live in our rural communities and the importance of community based organizations in reaching these individuals with information. Dr. McClellan inquired about the Grange's approach to some of the communications issues facing organizations reaching out to the elderly, such as providing information that is easy to understand and informative. Mr. Watson cited the Grange's extensive volunteer program, its nationwide network of chapters in rural communities as well as the creation of interactive teaching methods that engage seniors, such as games and comic strips, as innovative examples of strategies for overcoming these difficulties.

Although the live version has already occurred, it is still possible to view the Internet broadcast in many different forms. To watch the session over the Internet go to www.publicconnect.com/medicareeducation/ and click on the View Archive link. It is also possible to obtain a free CD-ROM or VHS tape of the program by calling (800) 276-0855.