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CHAPTER 1072, AURORA NEWSVolume
16, Number 2May, June, July, August 2010
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Next Meeting: Monday, June 7, 2010, 12:00 Noon Location:
Country Buffett at Sable and Mississippi Speaker: Ms. Jerry Pifer, a staff member of Congressman Ed Perlmutter who specializes in Senior
affairs. Buffet
Lunch is from 11:00 to Noon; Meeting begins at 12:00 Noon.
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A WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT By Fred L. Bond, flbond@hotmail.com There were approximately 104 delegates and guests at our Colorado State Convention this
year. It was good to see the delegates who could afford to make it to the Convention but many familiar faces were not present. Daniel Adcock Legislative Director, NARFE, spoke to us about the many challenges that we face keeping our earned
benefits intact and the all-out push to enlist and keep the NARFE membership. We currently have approximately 260,000 total
National members. When I joined in 1996 we had 500,000 members. We have lost approximately 52% of our membership in 14 years.
That must stop if we are to remain a viable organization. We are very fortunate to have a man like Daniel heading up our legislative
program as he is very knowledgeable and interesting to talk to about what goes on in Washington. Let me
give you some facts about our State Federation. During the January to December 2009 year, we gained 664 new members of which
201 were active Federal Employees. We have lost 689 members to non-renewals giving us a total of 6,105 voting members plus
466 LSA’s and 130 National Life Members, who have not paid chapter dues, for a grand total of 6,701 total members. This
was a gain of 61 members from the 2008 total. On a sad note we lost 141 members to the grim reaper. Of our 25 Chapters only
three had no deaths for 2009. The members who are under the civil service retirement system (CSRS) annuities are dying off
which gives that group less and less political power. That makes our healthy pension reserves easier and easier to tap by
a money-hungry congress who feels that our earned benefits are too generous. While FEHBP was sheltered
from the Health Care Reform bill, there are changes scheduled for medicare. The new Health reform timeline from the April
2010 Consumer Report states as follows: - Late June 2010 new high-risk insurance pool for people
with pre-existing conditions,
- July 2010 - all states are supposed to establish a public web sight to look up available
health choices,
- Various times in 2010 - Medicare patients who fall into the Part D doughnut hole will get a one-time
$250 rebate for 2010 only,
- Sept. 23, 2010 - consumer protections begin for most people with job based coverage,
- Nov.
15 to Dec. 31, 2010 - people on Medicare can switch plans to private policies,
- Jan. 1, 2011- more changes to Medicare
begin taking effect,
- 2013 - changes begin in preparation for full reform in 2014,
- 2014 - reform starts and
all legal residents will be required to have health coverage.
Exemptions will be available for reasons
of financial hardship and other reasons. This is the new health care timeline in one short paragraph. I look forward
to seeing you at our June 7, 2010 Chapter meeting.
Editor’s Note: Please note that you will
receive only three (3) NARFE Chapter 1072 newsletters in 2010 due to budget restrictions. The next newsletter is scheduled
for publishment in August. You are urged to provide your email address to us if you haven’t done so earlier as
providing your newsletter to you by email saves in printing and postage costs. You may submit your email address to Fred Bond,
President, at flbond@hotmail.com or Ruth Harvey, Newsletter Editor at dahrah1@aol.com . Thank you.
New Chapter Members: Emmaline Berry Darcy Blair Jan T. Brown Sandee
Campbell Patricia A. Colburn James E. Deden Sherry Dix Bill Holen Russell
K. Lynn Linda K. Miller Anna Muth Lorene R. Reposa Mary C. Rogers Mary
L. Suazo Mary Wendt Elke K. Willis So Happy to Have You
Join Us! Reinstatements: Nancy Ahrens Janice R. Kelly Paul Kemper Welcome Back! VOLUNTARILY LEFT US Nancy Ahrens Lisa Brown Marie Douglas Phillip
Glover Lynn Head Susan Hicks Paul Kemper Egon
Krumins Faith M. Mounts Alice J. Nicolau Almaz Sime Warren
A. Smith Alice M. Sonne Help Us Win Them Back! Members Passed Away Alice P. Camp Mahlon
H. Lavasseur Gone but not forgotten!
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Status of Cost -of-Living Increase The Consumer Price Index
for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical workers (CPI-W) increased 0.2 percent during April. Released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov/cpi or 202-691-6994) on May 19, the CPI-W for April is 213.96. For purposes of calculating the next COLA
(cost-of-living adjustment), the index is still 0.7 percent below the 2008 third quarter average (due to price deflation,
in the past measurement year, the 2008 third quarter average is still the point of comparison) base index of 215.5. May consumer
price indices will be released Thursday, June 17, 2010. Benefits awarded under
the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) to individuals suffering work-related injuries or illnesses, are adjusted according
to each calendar’s year’s percentage change in the CPI-W. April’s index, 213.96 is 1.06 percent higher than
December 2009 index, 211.703. | CPI.W | | Monthly % Change | %Toward Nex COLA | Oct | 211.5 | 0.1 | -1.9 |
Nov | 212 | 0.2 | -1.62 | Dec | 211.7 | -0.1 | -1.8 | Jan | 212.6 | 0.4 | -1.4 | Feb | 212.5 | 0 | -1.4 | Mar | 213.525 | 0.5 | -0.9 | Apr | 213.96 | 0.2 | -0.7 |
SPREADING SOME SUNSHINE If you know of a chapter member who is ill,
in the hospital, or has recently passed away, please let us know so we can extend get-well wishes or sympathy and support
to the family as needed. You can call Dolores Collins, Sunshine Chair, at 303-333-3808 or contact Fred L. Bond, President
at 303-344-1797, flbond@hotmail.com
Legislative Issues By Eileen Bond, eibond@hotmail.com We had the NARFE State Convention on the 15th of May in Longmont.
Dan Adcock, the head of our Legislative Department in Washington was the featured speaker. He talked about our accomplishments
and fears. For accomplishments
we have secured TSP survivor rights much like an IRA. We have sheltered the FEHBP from the Health Care Reform Bill, and created
a firewall between us and the new Health Care Plan run by OPM. We had fear that the new health care recipients would be forced
into our plan or that we might be forced into theirs. The one thing that concerns us is the Fiscal Commission set up
by the President to look at how to handle the national debt. They have said that everything is on the table. It has 18 members
and they need 14 to agree before they make a recommendation to Congress. We are concerned about Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles,
both important members of the committee and not great friends of federal retirees. Normally commissions come and go and nothing
comes of their reports, but this year might be different. The public is clamoring about the deficit, and elections are already
being affected by the debt. Washington is nervous and we are expensive. Dan brought up something that I had not thought
about much. We need to be concerned about Medicaid. He said that NARFE members wind up on Medicaid if we have no long term
care insurance and are in a nursing home long enough to use up our assets. Medicaid is paid for by the states and then they
get matching funds from the Federal Government. Almost all the states are in financial trouble and the stimulus money is going
to run out just as more and more people qualify and apply for Medicaid. Neither FEHBP nor Medicare cover us for long or for
much of the cost if we wind up in a nursing home for very long. As a member of the Colorado Senior Lobby I have seen
a lot of the financial troubles that the state is in for the next few years and it is not just Medicaid that is taking a hit.
We are facing 3.5 billion dollar in cuts. In spite of those cuts we should recover a bit sooner than the rest of the country.
We are lucky in that our economy is not based on limited industries like so many of the states east of us. We have a very
diverse economy which has kept us with seven to eight percent unemployment. That is several points better than most of the
nation. Many studies rank us as being a business friendly state. We are well educated and competitive. However, we live in
a very low tax state and when the whole economy goes down as far as it has; a state like ours gets into trouble. The
legislature took the Colorado Senior Property Tax Exemption break away again. Don’t expect to get that back, perhaps
ever. In case you have forgotten that tax break was passed by a 55% approval of the voters in 2000. It would give 65 year
olds and above a break on 50% of the taxed value of their home up to $100,000. You would have to have occupied your home for
10 years or more. The problem with the Exemption is that it would cost the state 80 to 100 million dollars a year. Of course
we all know that it gets more and more expensive as more and more seniors qualify for it. Sound familiar? Think GPO and WEP
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COVERING ADULT CHILDREN UNTIL AGE 26 UNDER FEHBP NARFE supported House (H.R. 5200) and Senate (S. 3341) bills have been introduced to change FEHBP
law to require program plans to expedite their coverage of dependents until age 26. Without the change, OPM says the extended
coverage cannot start until the new contract begins in January 2011. The change will provide parity between FEHBP plans and
private sector insurers who have already made the coverage extension. More details are in the NARFE Press Release: http://www.narfe.org/departments/home/articles.cfm?ID=2090
IMPORTANT WEBSITES Chapter 1072/2339:
www.narfecolorado.org Colorado Federation: www.narfe-colorado.com NARFE Headquarters: www.narfe.org Office of Personnel Management: www.opm.gov Social Security Administration: www.ssa.gov
Colorado Senators’ Websites Senator Mark Udall: markudall.senate.gov Senator Michael Bennet: bennet.senate.gov
Colorado Representatives’
Websites Rep Diane Degette (1st CD): degette.house.gov Rep Jared Polis (2nd CD): polis.house.gov Rep John Salazar (3rd CD): www.house.gov/salazar Rep Betsy Markey (4th CD): betsymarkey.house.gov Rep Doug Lamborn (5th CD): lamborn.house.gov Rep Mike Coffman (6th CD): coffman.house.gov Rep Ed Perlmutter (7th CD): perlmutter.house.gov
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