Monthly Archives for November 2023

In the coming years, generations of older Veterans will be leaving us

Published in RINewsToday on November 13, 2023

Of the 16.6 million living veterans, serving in World War II to the Global War on Terror, one half of these veterans are age 65 and over.  The graying of America’s veterans is well-documented in a U.S. Census Bureau report released last July. 

Taking a Look at America’s Aging Veterans

The Census Bureau report,  Aging Veterans: America’s Veteran Population in Later Life, released in July 2023, examines demographic characteristics of the nation’s aging veterans who served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, 

According to the new census data, of the 16.6 million living veterans, 8.1 million, that is nearly one-half (49%) of all veterans in the United States, were age 65 and older. Of all veterans, 1 in 4 is 70 to 79 years old.  The largest group of older veterans (5.5 million) served during the Vietnam War.  World War II veterans made up the smallest group (183,000) of war-time veterans.

The Census data noted that living veterans are overwhelming men, especially those who are older than 70 years old.  The largest age groups of male veterans are 72-74 years old.  This has occurred as the result of the United States entering the Vietnam War in 1964, with soldiers 18-20 years old making up the core age group of draftees and enlistees. 

But census data also reveals that today there are an increasing number of living female veterans.  This is due in large part to changes made in the 1970s when the military transitioned to an all-volunteer force combined with Congress passing legislation that allowed woman to enroll in service academies. Now woman make up one 1 in 10 veterans, says the Census Bureau.

The 9-page report, based on data from the 2021 American Community Survey, reported that older veterans were less likely to be living in poverty and had higher incomes than other older adults.  These individuals were more likely to have a functional disability than other older adults. However, these individuals were less likely to have a service-connected disability compared with all veterans.

This Census Bureau report is based on data from the 2021 American Community Survey (ACS). The ACS is a nationwide survey designed to provide timely and reliable data every year on the demographic, social, economic and housing characteristics of the nation, states, counties and other localities. 

The Census Bureau researchers found that older veterans were less likely to be at risk of isolation than other older adults. About 43% of older veterans experienced at least one characteristic of isolation compared with 46% of older adults who never served. In contrast, veterans in general, regardless of their age, were more likely to have at least one characteristic of isolation than nonveterans (34% compared with 27%, respectively).

The Last Man Standing

As the living veterans grow older, we will witness the passing away of generations of these individuals. As the living veterans grow older, we will witness the passing away of generations of these individuals.  Wikopedia, a free online encyclopedia hosted by the Wikopedia Foundation, details two of the following examples. 

In the 1950s, we saw the passing of the last Civil War veteran.  Wikipedia reported that on August 2, 1956, Albert Henry Woolson, 106, was the undisputed last surviving Civil War veteran on either side.  The drummer Boy in Company C 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery Regiment, serving in the Grand Army of the Republic, had  enlisted in 1864 to fight in the nation’s bloody American Civil War, also referred to as the War Between the States.   The last verified Confederate soldier was Pleasant Crump, who passed away on Dec. 31, 1951. 

Over 13 years ago, a veteran of World War I was nationally recognized, like Civil War Veteran Woolson, for being the last of his generation of veterans to pass away.  Frank Buckles, 101, was reported to be the last  survivor of 4.73 million Americans who fought in the War to End All Wars.  In 1917, the 16-year-old, who would ultimately leave military service as a corporal, had enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to drive  ambulances and motorcycles near the front lines in France.

As we celebrate Veterans Day, there are fewer aging World War II veterans attending ceremonies held throughout the country to honor their military service.  With their medium age now pegged at 93 years, many of the “Greatest Generation,” are frail, and their numbers are dwindling.  The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs estimates that out of the 16.1 million soldiers who served in World War II, 183,000 are still alive today. Over 1,200 of these veterans reside in the Ocean State. 

By 2040,  America’s last living World War II veteran is expected to pass away like Woolson and Buckles.  The last surviving veterans of Korea and Vietnam will mark an end of an era.  When this happens, their stories can’t be shared to us personally, but only told in our history books or by television documentaries or movies (like Saving Private Ryan) or by historians and academics at universities and colleges. 

Like many I know, I failed to ask my father, the late Frank M. Weiss, to share his World War II experiences.  All that I have now are his scrap book, filled with faded pictures of his military service, yellowed letters and military memorabilia, his medical and discharge papers, sitting in a red Neiman Marcus box in my basement.  The names of his comrades, activities and state-side base locations captured on film no longer have any context to me with his passing. 

Two days ago, on November 11, 2023, Veterans Day ceremonies and activities were being held throughout the Ocean State and across the country to honor those who are serving or have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. By 2025, the Department of Veteran Affairs estimated that there will be a couple of hundred World War II veterans, over 1,600 Korean and 14,000 Vietnam veterans still alive in Rhode Island.  In the coming years, frailty and health issues will keep these elderly veterans’ from attending Veteran Day celebrations and even at their reunions.     
 
As a generation of Civil War and World War I veterans vanish right before our eyes in 1956 and 2011, we must cherish the surviving older veterans.  In the next thirty years, we are poised to see new generations of veterans who fought in three wars die out of right before our eyes. I say, cherish them as long as you can. Urge those who fought in World War II, Korea and Vietnam to share their personal stories and oral histories for the sake of America’s future generations. They have so much to say and  America’s younger generations has much to learn from them.  

Remember, don’t miss the opportunity to thank any living older veteran you meet in your daily travels. Thank them for their service to our country.  

Today’s commentary is dedicated to my father, Second Lt. Frank M. Weiss, who died in December 2003, in Dallas, Texas, at 89 years old.

Federal Court denies attempt to stop Medicare drug negotiation program

Published in RINewsToday on November 6, 2023

Over two months ago, as supporters of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) celebrated the one-year anniversary of the passage of the historic legislation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), along with drugmakers filed multiple lawsuits to block the IRA’s drug price negotiation provisions.  The drug price negotiation program, created by IRA, allows Medicare to use its bargaining power to negotiate the prices of ten prescription drugs for the first time.

The multiple-filed legal suits came weeks before Sept. 1 when the for Centers Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) was scheduled to publish a list of the first 10 drugs that would be subjected to negotiations.  These lawsuits argued that the federal price negotiation program was unconstitutional because it violated the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, as well as the separation of powers clause, by giving the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) discretion over a maximum fair price for any given drug selected for negotiation.  These lawsuits also charge that CMS price controls would force drug makers to pull back on developing new drugs, jeopardizing medical breakthroughs for individuals with life-threatening and chronic illnesses. 

Among the nine lawsuits scheduled to go to trial, one was a motion filed on July 12, 2023 by the Chamber and several of its affiliates in Ohio. This motion requested the court to issue a preliminary injunction to halt the Medicare drug negotiation program from implementation. The ruling came before the Oct. 1, 2023 deadline requiring drugmakers whose pharmaceuticals were selected for negotiations to either sign agreements to participate or to face stiff penalties.  

The U.S. Department of Justice opposed the Chamber’s motion, filing a motion to dismiss its case.  On Sept. 15, 2023, the court held oral arguments giving the  Chamber and the DOJ an opportunity to present their legal arguments in greater detail.  

Overcoming a Major Legal Hurdle 

On Friday, September 29, 2023, U.S. District Judge Michael J. Newman for Southern District of Ohio, denied the Chambers request to block implementation of the newly established Medicare drug price negotiation program before the drug price negotiation talks began.  The ruling called on the Chamber to file an amended complaint by Oct. 13, 2023. DOJ would then have until Oct. 27, 2023 to renew its motion to dismiss.

According to Spencer Kimball of CNBC, legal experts say the pharmaceutical industry hopes to see conflicting rules from lawsuits filed in other federal appellate courts to bring this issue to the Supreme Court for final resolution. 

The Willimantic, Connecticut-based Center for Medicare Advocacy (CMA), a nonprofit group pushing for comprehensive Medicare coverage, health equity and quality of health care for seniors and people with disabilities, is encouraged by Judge Newman’s ruling, which assessed the drug manufacturer’s claims “to be weak in the face of clearly established laws.”

According to CMA, the 28-page court order found that the Chamber and other plaintiffs had demonstrated neither likelihood of success on the merits, nor irreparable harm, which are required for a preliminary injunction.  CMS noted that this case cited “clear” law that “participation in Medicare, no matter how vital it may be to a business model, is a completely voluntary choice.” The court also found that the price established by negotiations cannot be considered ‘confiscatory,’ as the Chamber charges or “a violation of due process, because drug manufacturers can opt out of Medicare entirely.”

Newman’s ruling noted that drugmakers are not compelled to sell drugs at the prices established by the Medicare program and that any economic harm, when the negotiated drug prices take effect in 2026, was too speculative to warrant immediate relief, reported CMS.  However, the court did deny the government’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit entirely, saying that more information on whether the plaintiffs have standing to sue would be beneficial and therefore the judge is allowing for limited discovery to clarify issues related to legal standing, after which the government may renew its motion to dismiss, noted the Medicare advocacy group.

With this ruling, Medicare may move forward with its implementation of its drug negotiation program as this case and others continue to proceed. 

Giving their two cents…

At press time, the Chamber did not respond to a request for comment about the court’s ruling.  But health care and aging advocacy groups issued statements expressing their thoughts about the impact of Newman’s ruling. 

“This is the first major blow to Big Pharma in its legal battles to block the drug price negotiation provisions under the Inflation Reduction Act, says Peter Maybarduk, Public Citizen’s director of the Access to Medicines program.

“The Chamber’s lawsuit lacks merit; the court made the right decision not to grant the injunction, which would have caused needless patient suffering and treatment rationing, notes Maybarduk, calling on drugmakers “to drop their lawsuits and drop their prices.”

“Now, drug companies should agree to participate in the negotiation program in good faith. The program is an important first step in ending the exorbitant prices charged to Medicare enrollees,” adds Maybarduk.

Frederick Isasi, Executive Director of Families USA, happily noted that the Medicare drug negotiation program continues, calling the ruling “a big win for seniors and their ability to purchase life-saving medications. The ability to afford medication is a matter of life and death for millions of older adults. That’s why we are fighting this David and Goliath battle – people deserve to pay a fair price for their drugs and Medicare price negotiation is a critical piece of this puzzle. And let’s not forget each drug subject to fair price negotiation is an old drug that millions of people need and doesn’t have competition,” he notes.

“It never ceases to amaze us that – on one hand – Big Pharma can cry poverty by saying that drug negotiations will hurt their bottom line, while recent earnings reports show they are raking in money hand over fist.  We are glad Judge Michael J. Newman, a Trump appointee in Ohio’s Southern District, saw through this hypocrisy by affirming the Biden administration’s power to begin negotiating the prices of 10 medications with drugmakers,” says Dan Adcock, Director of Government Relations and Policy, of the Washington, DC-based National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. (NCPSSM).

According to NCPSSM, Drug makers made a whopping $493 billion in revenue from ten drugs that are now subject to price negotiations between CMS and the manufacturer, which have accounted for more than $170 billion in gross Medicare spending, according to a report from the nonprofit, Protect Our Care.

“The court’s decision to allow Medicare drug price negotiations to move forward is welcome news, says William Alvarado Rivera, Senior Vice President for Litigation at AARP Foundation. “Pausing Medicare negotiations would have risked billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers – and countless lives. It is unconscionable that Americans face such high prescription drug costs that many people skip taking medication altogether or must ration it,” he said.

“We’re prepared to fight for as long as necessary to ensure big drug companies can’t charge excessive prices at the expense of patients’ health, says Rivera, noting that the new Medicare negotiation law would bring financial and medical relief to millions of older Americans and their families, and put drugs that treat life-threatening and chronic conditions, from cancer to heart disease, within their reach. Rivera says, “It must not be derailed.” 

Congress has put the breaks to the spiraling costs of pharmaceuticals by giving Medicare the authority to negotiate the price of popular drugs with drug makers.  America’s seniors will continue to suffer financial  hardships and many might even lose their lives by not choosing not to take their costly medications if courts rule in favor of drug companies.  Time will tell.   

U.S. Judge Michael J. Newman ruling denying the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s request for a preliminary injunction, go to https://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/DaytonAreaChamberofCommerceetalvBecerraetalDocketNo323cv00156SDOh/5?doc_id=X3U600KOGG69QHQBPEU24OS1JMO

A listing of drugmaker revenues of the first ten negotiated drugs, go to https://www.protectourcare.org/by-the-numbers-the-ten-costly-drugs-that-are-now-eligible-to-have-lower-prices-negotiated-by-medicare/