Community leaders from 16 states join campaign to protect seniors from
Medicare cuts
WASHINGTON, April 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than three dozen
community leaders from across the country have come together to actively
engage lawmakers on the value Medicare Advantage provides to vulnerable
seniors in their communities.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070430/DCM055 )
The Minority Advisory Committee to the Coalition for Medicare Choices
includes former elected officials, civil rights advocates, labor and
business leaders who have coalesced to protect low-income and minority
seniors from cuts to their Medicare benefits.
"Seniors deserve affordable, high-quality healthcare. Any cuts to
Medicare Advantage would drive up healthcare costs for those who can least
afford it," said Committee member Willie Hampton, President of the Service
Employees International Union Local 79 in Michigan.
A recent AHIP analysis of government data demonstrates the importance
of Medicare Advantage to low-income and minority seniors. According to the
most recent publicly available data, 49 percent of all Medicare Advantage
beneficiaries had incomes of less than $20,000. Sixty-eight percent of
minority Medicare Advantage enrollees had incomes below $20,000.
"How could Congress consider cutting funding for a healthcare program
that keeps many low-income seniors in our community healthy? If Congress
cuts funding, you can be sure that many low-income and minority seniors
will be forced to pay more money for less benefits," said Committee member
Jaime Martinez, President of League of United Latin American Citizens
(LULAC) Council #4626 in San Antonio, Texas.
The Minority Advisory Committee comes together as Congress is crafting
budget and health care legislation. Committee members will reach out to
members of Congress and provide guidance as the Coalition for Medicare
Choices conducts grassroots efforts in their communities.
"Balancing the federal budget on the backs of our seniors who count on
Medicare health plans is unacceptable," said Eligio Marin, Chairman of
LULAC Illinois.
The Coalition for Medicare Choices is the leading national grassroots
organization for beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage.
The Committee includes:
-- Isabel Rubio, Executive Director / Hispanic Interest Coalition of
Alabama; Alabama
-- Ralph Miller, Executive Director, Latino's for America; California
-- Steven Ybarra, National DNC Committeeman; California
-- Angel Luevano, State Director of California LULAC; California
-- Wellington Webb, former Mayor of Denver, former Regional Director of
HHS; Colorado
-- Hilary Shelton, Director, Washington Bureau, NAACP; District of
Columbia
-- Kevin Parker, COO, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation;
District of Columbia
-- Dr. Elena Rios, M.D., M.S.P.H., President & CEO, National Hispanic
Medical Association (NHMA); District of Columbia
-- Alex Penelas, former Mayor of Miami-Dade County; Florida
-- Angel Gonzalez, Chairman, Miami Commission; Florida
-- Helen Butler, Executive Director, Coalition for the People's Agenda;
Georgia
-- Bobbie Paul, Executive Director, Women's Action for New Direction
(WAND) Atlanta; Georgia
-- John Evans, President, Operation LEAD (Leadership to End All
Discrimination); Former President of Dekalb County NAACP; Georgia
-- Pat DeBonnett, Former E.D. of the Greater Roseland Community
Development Corporation (CDC); Illinois
-- Bertand Murrell, President/CEO, Murrell Inc.; Illinois
-- David Chang, Korean American Leadership Council; Illinois
-- Eligio Marin, Chairman, LULAC Illinois; Illinois
-- Joyce Chapman, President/CEO, Pullman Community Development Corporation
(CDC); Illinois
-- Rev. Dr. Christopher A. Hill Jr., Monumental Baptist Church; Illinois
-- William Lantigua, State Representative, Chair of Massachusetts Black
Caucus; Massachusetts
-- Jerome Warfield, Pastor, Mt. Vernon Baptist Church; Michigan
-- Lisa Johannon, Executive Director, CDC of Detroit; Michigan
-- Ron Clark, former Detroit television newscaster; Michigan
-- Tenesha Grimmett, Community organizer; Michigan
-- Willie Hampton, President, SEIU Local 79; Michigan
-- Carlos Perez, President, Dominican American Foundation; New Jersey
-- Christian Estevez, President, Organization for Latino Advancement; New
Jersey
-- Pastor Keith Jones, Pastor, Grace Worship Center; New Jersey
-- Ulysses Lee, E.D., Black Americans Lobbying for Leadership of Tomorrow
(BALLOT); New Jersey
-- Claudia Briggs, Nevada State Education Association; Nevada
-- Basil Smikle Jr., Basil Smikle & Associates LLC; New York
-- Chung Seto, The Chung Seto Group; New York
-- Councilman Juan Ramos, City Councilman-at-Large; Pennsylvania
-- Pedro Paulo Bretz, Executive Director, The Hispanic Center;
Pennsylvania
-- Willie Lyles III, Executive Director, The Freedom Foundation; South
Carolina
-- Wanda Stringfellow, Mayor, City of Chester; South Carolina
-- Jaime Martinez, President, LULAC Chapter 2646 of San Antonio, TX; Texas
-- Marsha Catron, Board of Hispanic Caucus Chairs; Texas
-- Raymond Miller, former President of Black Veterans of Washington;
Washington
-- Vivian Caver, former State Representative, former Chair of the Seattle
Human Rights Department; Washington
-- Robert Wilkerson, Chief Advisor on Senior Issues, Beloit Chapter of
NAACP; Wisconsin
-- Betty Villalobos-Hallman, Executive Director, El Centro of the Hispanic
Community of Beloit; Wisconsin
America's Health Insurance Plans -- Providing Health Benefits to More
Than 200 Million Americans
SOURCE America's Health Insurance Plans
back to top
