by Mimi Johnson, NCL Health Policy Associate

Taking center stage in Washington, DC and across the country these days is health reform, which presents an opportunity to afford all Americans access to preventive services. With its largest supporter now absent, Senator Kennedy’s legacy as a champion for a healthier America will be felt as discussions ensue. Senator Kennedy, and the HELP Committee he led for so many years, produced the first health reform bill earlier this summer, packed with expanded preventive services and opportunities for health promotion – including resources for public-private partnerships to help educate consumers about health and safety issues.

Senator Kennedy felt all Americans had a right to health care. He increased access to care by creating and improving such important programs as Medicare and Medicaid, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Kennedy advocated that everyone have the opportunity to use the same government insurance he was afforded as a Member of Congress.

While I do not have access to the same insurance Senator Kennedy had, I am fortunate enough to have coverage. In fact, I recently had the luxury of visiting my primary care physician, something millions of Americans go without year after year. Because I am afforded the opportunity for an annual well-visit, I see it as my duty to go. I am, however, in the minority. A study by the University of Pittsburgh and RAND found that only 1/5^th of the US population receive an annual preventive health exam.

The importance of primary care and prevention to our overall health, and the sustainability of our health care system, is too great to put a price tag on. In fact, just look back at our recent post about the free medical clinic in LA; the long lines show that people recognize the need to check-in and get a check-up. It is very important that we not only have access to a check-up, but that we all have the ability to check-in with a health care professional who can talk with us about our life – ranging from our diet and exercise, to stress, and the medications we are on or allergies we have.

If you are lucky enough to have insurance – take advantage of it and schedule your annual check-up and check-in with your health professional.

And thanks to Senator Kennedy for all of his hard work to make this country a healthier place.

By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director

Consumer organizations do so much great work in the financial services area — working against predatory loans, fighting outrageous fees and surcharges on credit cards, demanding truth in lending and transparency in credit scores. But often our attention is focused on the here and now. What about working to ensure that consumers have a secure and adequate retirement?

NCL was invited to a meeting last week with leaders of the Retirement USA, a group formed by the Economic Policy Institute, the Pension Rights Center, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, and the Service Employees International Union, which holds a seat on the NCL Board. Retirement USA’s goal is to get widespread agreement on a series of principles that move Americans toward a far more sound retirement system than what exists today.

The facts about Americans entering retirement are grim:

• Only half of full-time private-sector employees participate in a retirement system.  The participation rate drops to 45 percent if part-time employees are included.
• Only 20 percent of American private-sector workers participate in traditional pension plans that provide guaranteed, lifetime benefits.
• 30 percent of American private-sector workers rely entirely on 401(k) plans to supplement Social Security.
• 2/3 of 401(k) plan investments are in stocks, and stocks have lost more than half their value since 2007.
• Half of all workers with 401(k)-type plans had less than $25,000 in their accounts – before the stock market meltdown – and the median 401(k) balance for workers over the age of 55 was only $40,000.
• 64 percent of older Americans depend on Social Security for more than half of their income, and one of five receives all of their income from Social Security.
• Social Security benefits for the average retiree are now $13,863, just barely more than the minimum wage.
• Half of people age 65 and older receive income of less than $17,382 a year from all sources.

Retirement USA has laid out a series of important principles that would – if adopted – help to secure adequate retirement for all workers:

• Universal coverage – every worker should be covered by a retirement plan in addition to Social Security.
• Secure retirement – retirement shouldn’t be a gamble; workers should be able to count on a steady lifetime stream of retirement income to supplement Social Security.
• Adequate Income – everyone should have an adequate retirement income after a lifetime of work.
• Shared responsibility – employers, employees, and the government should share this responsibility.
• Required contributions – employees and employers should be required to contribute a specified percent of pay; government should subsidize lower income workers.
• Contributions to the system should be pooled and professionally managed to minimize risk.
• Payouts should only be permitted before retirement except for permanent disability.
• Benefits should be paid out over the lifetime of retirees and not given in a lump sum.
• Benefits should be portable when workers change jobs.
• Voluntary contributions should be permitted.
• Efficient and transparent administration of benefits by a government agency or a private nonprofit.
• There ought to be effective oversight of the new system by a single government regulator dedicated solely to promoting retirement security.

The National Consumers League supports these principles, especially in light of the dire economic reality most American workers face when they retire. The League’s early leaders were strong supporters of Social Security, which is a lifeline to older Americans, but was never intended to be their sole support. Retirement USA has laid out the blueprint for reform. Now it is time for consumer groups, unions. and others to make that blueprint a reality.

By Courtney Brein, Linda Golodner Food Safety and Nutrition Fellow

The National Consumers League was pleased to join fellow consumer advocates along with government and food industry representatives at last week’s 32nd annual National Food Policy Conference.  The conference, sponsored by the Consumer Federation of America and the Grocery Manufacturers Association, focused on two key issues of national concern: food safety and child nutrition.  On food safety, the conference proved particularly timely.

Lately, unease about the safety of the food supply in the United States has grown, fueled by outbreaks of food-borne illness linked to contaminated peanut butter and cookie dough.  A Pew-commissioned bipartisan poll of Iowa voters released during the conference found that approximately half of those polled stated that events of the past year have decreased their confidence in the safety of food sold in this country.  A Pew-commissioned nationwide poll released at the same time found that concern about the safety of imported foods has increased since 2008; 64 percent of Americans surveyed believe imported foods to be “often or sometimes unsafe,” whereas only 53 percent of likely voters expressed these concerns in 2008.  The poll also found that 89 percent of participants want stronger food safety measures and 91 percent want more frequent inspections of high-risk food processing facilities.

Modernized food safety laws are long overdue.  Many food safety regulations have not been updated since 1906, when President Theodore Roosevelt signed into law the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act, legislation that the National Consumers League played a key role in passing.  In July, the House passed the Food Safety Enhancement Act, H.R. 2749, which would increase the regulatory powers of the FDA, require imported food to meet the same safety standards as food produced in the United States, establish a national food tracing system, and require all food processing facilities to implement food safety plans.  Food safety advocates hope that the Senate version of the bill, which does not include all provisions in the House bill, will come up for consideration this session.

During her keynote speech, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg detailed the FDA’s plans to strengthen its own programs and policies, measures which include appointing a Deputy Commissioner for Foods.  Hamburg also noted a fundamental change in perspective at the FDA: “We are pressing forward with a new agenda: to shift the agency’s emphasis away from mitigating public health harm by removing unsafe products from the market place, to…prevent[ing] harm by keeping unsafe food from entering commerce in the first place.”  The Commissioner announced the Reportable Food Registry, a new initiative requiring food industry officials to electronically report cases of probable food contamination within 24 hours of discovery.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius echoed Commissioner Hamburg’s commitment to cross-agency collaboration and noted that new preventive measures will not only save lives but will generate significant cost savings as well.  Secretary Sebelius used her speech before an audience of many consumer advocates to announce the launch of www.foodsafety.gov , a joint initiative of the USDA and HHS that will provide consumers with a one-stop source for information about the latest recalls and outbreaks.

The National Consumers League applauds the collaborative approach embraced by the Obama administration and strongly supports much needed food safety reform.