The Texas House of Representatives is considering major insurance reform legislation. Texas has the highest homeowner’s insurance premiums in the nation. Currently, insurance companies can increase premiums before the Texas Department of Insurance does any review to be sure any increases are reasonable. AARP supports closing this loophole with a system called "prior approval." Prior approval would ensure that insurance companies have approval before increasing premiums. 

Call your Representative and urge him/her to "support a prior approval amendment in SB 1007." 

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AUSTIN, TX – In a letter to every member of the Texas House of Representatives, AARP is urging the House to give the insurance commissioner "prior approval" authority of homeowners’ insurance rates by amending SB 1007. The organization, which has more than 2.4 million members in Texas, said lowering the highest homeowners premiums in the nation is a top priority and that "it will inform AARP members about how each Representative voted on this critical amendment." 

Below is a copy of the letter. 

# # # 

May 19, 2009 

The Honorable _____ ________
Texas House of Representatives
P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768-2910

Dear Representative: 

On behalf of AARP’s 2.4 million members in Texas, we ask you to support an amendment to S.B. 1007 (The Texas Department of Insurance Sunset bill) to establish full "prior approval" of homeowner’s insurance rates. Under a system of prior approval, insurance carriers must submit proposed premium rate increases to TDI for approval. TDI then verifies that the new rates are not excessive or discriminatory. The insurer cannot actually begin charging the proposed rates until TDI approves them. 

Texas’ "hybrid" system, which permits TDI authority to put insurance companies under prior approval in limited circumstances is inadequate. The designation is temporary and so limited that no company is currently under prior approval. 

The majority of carriers are subject to Texas’ "file and use" system, which has not protected consumers well. Under file and use, insurance carriers are allowed to increase premium rates for policyholders and make those increases effective immediately without first having to justify the increases to TDI. The current file and use system forces TDI to the courts to establish the proper rates. TDI’s 2003 dispute with State Farm is still pending, and it is estimated that consumers have overpaid by as much as half a billion dollars. 

Six years after insurance reform, Texans are paying the highest premiums with larger deductibles and expanded exclusions. Texas consumers are paying more and getting less. Texans deserve to know that the rates they pay are not excessive or discriminatory. Establishing a system of prior approval for homeowners insurance in Texas will provide regulatory clarity for insurance carriers and reasonable rate certainty for policyholders. 

AARP urges you to support amending S.B. 1007 to include full "prior approval" of homeowner’s insurance rates. 

As part of AARP’s ongoing effort to let our members know of legislative action taken on key issues, we will inform AARP members about how each Representative voted on this critical amendment.

Sincerely,

Robert A. Jackson

AARP Texas State Director

Mary Scott

AARP Texas State President

AUSTIN, TX -- AARP Texas today issued an urgent plea to Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Lewisville, to allow the Senate Health and Human Services Committee which she chairs to vote on a bill that would create one-stop shopping for long-term care services in Texas. 

"This bill not only makes sense for the seniors of our state and their families but it will also lead to substantial savings for the Texas treasury in the long run," said Bob Jackson, AARP Texas State Director. 

SB 943 by Sen. Judith Zaffirni, D-Laredo, and its House companion HB 1398 by Representative Ryan Guillen, D-Río Grande City, would also promote the collaboration of various agencies in providing information and access to long-term care services, all under one roof. 

"The legislative clock is running out and our members need Chairwoman Nelson to allow a straight up and down vote on the bill before it’s too late," said Jackson.  

AARP favors the adoption of a one-stop shopping, or "single point of entry," system in Texas to point people to the types of services they need in a more expeditious and less costly manner. 

While an overwhelming percentage of Texans favor community-based care as more desirable and economic, it’s not the default mechanism in our state today.  Average community-based care costs in Texas range from $700 to $1,400 per month, compared to $2,500 per month for the average Medicaid-funded nursing home. 

"Home and community-based services are a win-win situation for both the patient and the state," added Jackson.  "And it’s a win for taxpayers." 

A single point of entry system has been introduced and used successfully across the country in various states and settings, from Washington State to New York.  AARP has nearly 2.5 million members in Texas.

Summer vacation may be approaching fast for Texas school kids, but your AARP Texas volunteers will be working hard on an advocacy blitz to improve the health care system. Keeping Medicare strong for current and future generations is a top priority. We want to lower costs for people on Medicare, while also eliminating waste, fraud and abuse that squander money, and result in medical errors and poor care. 

Skyrocketing costs and our economic crisis are pricing millions of beneficiaries out of the care they need. Medicare patients now spend an average of 30% of their incomes on out-of-pocket health costs -- six times more than those with employer coverage. 

These runaway health costs burden families and the Medicare program itself. To address them, AARP supports an array of actions to contain costs, attack waste and make care more efficient. For example, AARP is fighting to close the Medicare Part D "doughnut hole," which forces people to pay much more for their medications. By closing the "doughnut hole," we can lower out-of-pocket costs for seniors with high drug costs and give them the coverage they’ve been paying for. 

AARP is also fighting to reduce unnecessary rehospitalizations among Medicare beneficiaries. A recent study found that one in five people on Medicare who leave the hospital have to go back within 30 days, and about one-third have to go back within 90 days. These unplanned and often avoidable readmissions cost Medicare $17.4 billion in 2004. 

A way to reduce them would be for Medicare to establish a follow up care benefit that helps patients transition home safely after a hospital stay. Under such a benefit, a team of health professionals could establish an individual plan for each patient, to make sure he or she gets adequate follow-up help -- including medication management and education -- to thrive after discharge to home or another facility. 

These common-sense health reforms are not likely to be enacted without AARP’s leadership. We need your support and your voice to convince Congress to act on them. So please sign up today at www.healthactionnow.org.

AARP has made guaranteeing access to affordable health coverage for people aged 50-64 an essential element of health reform. Why? Americans aged 50-64 -- who make up nearly half of AARP’s 40 million members -- are taking a hard hit in these times of shrinking employer-sponsored health coverage. They have become the fastest growing group of uninsured. The rate at which they have been losing coverage is really alarming -- 36 percent between 2000 and 2009. 

And, now, in today’s turbulent economy, as more working men and women in this age group are losing jobs with employer-sponsored health care, they are finding it more and more difficult – if not impossible -- to get affordable individual coverage. This is -- in large part -- because health insurers consider age and pre-existing conditions when setting their rates. Seven of every ten Americans in this age group have at least one -- if not several – such chronic health conditions as diabetes and heart disease. Insurance industry data show that insurers reject between 17 and 28 percent of all applications from people aged 50-64.

Those "lucky" enough to find individual coverage must pay, on average, premiums that average three times higher than premiums for those of the same age who have employer coverage. And their out-of-pocket spending for health care is more than twice that of those with employer coverage -- despite less generous benefits.

This problem is becoming more serious because, thanks to the aging of the baby boomers, our 50-64 population is growing rapidly. Nearly one of every five Americans will be 50-64 by 2015. So, AARP is pressing Congress to find a common-sense solution to the coverage gap for 50-64-year-olds. For information on AARP’s efforts to help people in this age group – and on ways you can help – please check out our new web page for health reform – www.healthactionnow.org.

AUSTIN, TX -- Increasing transparency in Texas’ deregulated electricity market could save consumers $956 million annually, or $52 on an average annual residential bill, according to an independently commissioned study released today by AARP. The savings could be achieved at no cost to the state by cutting the lag in disclosing wholesale market information from 60 days to 2 days.

The report, Transparency in ERCOT: A No-cost Strategy to Reduce Electricity Prices in Texas, was released by AARP at a news conference today in the State Capitol. It was prepared for AARP by Robert McCullough, a nationally-recognized expert on electricity matters and managing partner of McCullough Research of Portland, Oregon. It can be downloaded at http://www.mresearch.com/reports.html.

Residential electricity prices in Texas have risen 64% since 1999. Under legislation passed that year, both power generators and eventually retailers were deregulated. 

"While there is some hope that consumers may get new protections this session, it looks like rate relief is stalled out at the Legislature," said Bob Jackson, State Director of AARP Texas. "Summer is just around the corner, it’s time for action." 

The report says the major reason for today’s high retail electricity rates is the flawed wholesale electricity market in which power generators sell directly to retail providers, or in a spot market operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). While only a small percentage of wholesale transactions take place in this spot market, the prices obtained through it negatively affect the 5.5 million residential customers of electricity in the deregulated areas of Texas, regardless of the retail electric provider they may choose. 

The report notes that the timely release of market data would improve market functions in Texas whereas the delay of market information protects non competitive behavior. 

In 2007, the Public Utility Commission took a preliminary step in reducing the lag in disclosing wholesale market information to 60 days. But that still leaves too much time for market manipulation. The report notes that Australia’s experience provides substantial evidence that a two-day delay is sufficient. 

"When market prices are unusually high, it is useful for both decision-makers and competitors to know why they are high and to be able to take steps to repair the situation," said Jackson. "However, state regulators did not go far enough. The Australian market, for example, requires information disclosure within two days."

AUSTIN, TX – In response to the spread of the recent swine flu outbreak in Mexico to Texas and other parts of the country, AARP Texas is encouraging its members and the public in general to follow the old adage, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

 “While we encourage all older Americans to get an annual vaccine for seasonal flu, the swine flu strain is not prevented by the seasonal flu vaccine,” Jackson noted.

Testimony before House Committee on Elections on Behalf of AARP Given By Mary Scott State President, Texas, April 6, 2009. 

Good morning Chairman Smith and members of the committee. My name is Mary Scott, I am the AARP Texas State President and a 44 year resident of Bedford, Texas in Tarrant County.

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to addressing the needs and interests of Americans aged 50 and older. AARP is the largest membership organization representing the interests of older Americans, with more than thirty-nine million members nationwide and 2.4 million members here in Texas. I have been a volunteer with AARP for many years. I’ve served on AARP’s National Policy Council and on the National Board of Directors. 

I am also a life long Texan and I am old enough to be a Texan who paid a poll tax for over a decade when I first started voting. I worked with other members of my generation to eliminate the poll tax and we do not want to see new barriers to voting replace those we fought so hard to get rid of. 

You may wonder about AARP’s interest in Texas’ and other states election laws, so I especially appreciate the opportunity to speak with you today about our interest in those laws. AARP views the right to vote as the most basic of rights, and encourages steps to engage all eligible voters in the process. 

AARP, because of its membership, is particularly concerned with facilitating voting for the 50+ population. 

In spite of these efforts, voter turnout in Texas remains alarmingly low. In 2006, the last gubernatorial election in Texas, only one in three registered voters cast their vote. In 2008, the last presidential election, only 45 percent of the voting age population in Texas cast their vote. Given the low turnout rates in Texas and across the US, AARP would like to see lawmakers do more to encourage participation in the election process. 

Older individuals vote in disproportionately high numbers, (About one half of the voters in the November 2006 and recent presidential election were over the age of 50.) and AARP believes fair and simple procedures help to maintain this high level of participation in the democratic process. AARP does not support procedures that reflect partisan bias, or that permit arbitrary or discriminatory reviews or voter challenges that may discourage turnout by older voters. 

Of particular concern today are efforts to enact voter ID requirements. AARP believes voter ID laws as enacted in other states serve to discourage rather than encourage participation of older voters in the election process. These requirements hearken back to the days before the Voting Rights Act when many people were disenfranchised and barred from voting by formal and informal measures such as the poll taxes and literacy tests. 

The AARP Foundation Litigation unit filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case Crawford vs. Marion County. The AARP litigation unit also served as co-counsel in the Georgia and Arizona cases challenging those states’ photo ID laws, and filed Amicus briefs in Missouri and Michigan cases.  

At first glance this type of voter ID law may appear harmless. However, Voter ID requirements pose a real barrier for senior voters, threatening to reduce legitimate citizen participation in the electoral process by our most faithful voters. 

While identification requirements sound simple, some types of paperwork just aren't available to many Texans, especially older ones. It is not uncommon for birth certificates to be lost and passports to expire. Fire, a move, a hurricane, or misplaced documents can all result in the absence of the numerous documents typically required by Voter ID laws in other states. 

With a voter ID requirement in place, the wait-time required to replicate the documents could, even without the cost involved, disenfranchise a voter who has the misfortune to be without a birth certificate or passport, shortly before an election. 

Further, allowing alternative forms of ID does not make Voter ID less onerous. Older citizens who are living in a retirement or assisted living facility or even in the home of one of their children may not have an electricity bill or a phone bill in their name. Even if those documents were easily available, people are just not in the habit of carrying them and their passports. 

But I think the stories of real people make cases and principles come alive – so I want to tell you about Antonio, a 50-year-old Katrina evacuee who settled in Fort Worth and his nearly two-year odyssey to get a Texas state-issued photo ID. 

Antonio had no idea what he was in for when he first went to the closest Texas Department of Public Safety Drivers License Division Office to get a Texas state ID card a couple of years ago. I should mention that he had no transportation and each trip to the Driver’s License Office was a three mile walk each way. 

He and his wife stayed after being evacuated to Fort Worth before Hurricane Katrina and Fort Worth is now home to them. His ID ordeal started when he realized that he should obtain a Texas state-issued photo ID card just before his Louisiana license expired. 

Little did he know that it would take an intelligent, educated, 50 year old, employed, American citizen and veteran a year and a half and many miles to get that increasingly important state-issued photo ID. 

When Antonio first went to the Drivers License Office, he took his still valid Louisiana state-issued photo ID card, his original Social Security card and his retired-military photo ID card issued by the US government. He waited in the usual lines only to be told that he didn’t have “proper” documentation of his identity. There are five pages of confusing identification requirements for a Texas driver license or identification certificate on the Texas Department of Public Safety website. 

Surprisingly, neither his Louisiana state-issued photo ID, nor his Social Security card was considered “primary” identification. In fact, Texas didn’t (and still doesn’t) even consider them to be “secondary” identification. No, they are mere “support” identification! Antonio’s retired-military photo ID card apparently isn’t any kind of identification at all as far as Texas is concerned. 

So after his wait that first time Antonio was told to go on his way and to return when he had “proper” documentation. 

It took a little while to obtain a certified copy of his birth certificate, one of the few “primary” identification documents Texas will accept, from his rural Georgia birthplace. When Antonio did get it, he walked back to the same office with it, his Louisiana state-issued photo ID, his original Social Security card and his retired-US military photo ID card. Once again Antonio waited in line, while the clerk carefully looked over his documents and then decided that the last letter of the first name on the copy of the hand-written birth certificate looked more like an “a” than an “o”, even though the certificate was describing the birth of a male. 

Discussion of all of the different forms of identification Antonio had offered ensued, but, in the end, it was clear that no amount of reasoning was going to convince the clerk that this was actually Antonio’s birth certificate. The clerk did suggest that since he was a veteran, he could use his military records ( DDR 214) as “secondary” identification. And he was again sent on his way to return when he had “proper” documentation. 

Getting his military record took time (remember, Antonio was a Katrina refugee, so he didn’t have his DDR 214 and other important papers). When it arrived, he walked back to the same Drivers License Division office with it, his Louisiana state-issued photo ID, his original Social Security card, and his retired-US military photo ID card and the certified copy of his birth certificate. 

Again the long wait in line, but this time, he had all of the “proper” documentation so this wait would be it…or so he thought. But in the time it took to get the DDR 214, the Drivers License Division had changed their rules! The DDR 214 was now mere “supporting” identification and he still needed one or two pieces of “secondary” identification to get a Texas state-issued photo ID. 

This time the clerk’s best suggestion was that Antonio go to Court and get his name changed to “Antonia” to match the clerk’s opinion of the handwritten name on his birth certificate. So he was again told to go on his way and return when he had the “proper” documentation. 

Antonio had finally had enough (he certainly had more patience than I would have had), and asked to speak to the Sergeant. He was told that the Sergeant was not in that day and again was told to return when he had “proper” documentation. Just then, the Sergeant walked in the door. A personal appeal from one veteran to another resulted in a phone call to Austin , after which the Sergeant returned to tell Antonio that his now extensive documentation of his identity would be accepted and he would be issued a Texas state ID. And it only took a year and a half!  

After hearing about Antonio’s story, I was stuck by how difficult it would be for a clerk, or election worker to verify documents. And how easy it would be for a clerk or election worker to prevent someone from voting because of the worker’s misinterpretation or because of the applicant’s race, gender, national origin, party affiliation or because the clerk just didn’t like “the look” of the person. This system is too open to abuse to risk our precious right to vote to it. 

You may have heard me mention that Antonio is 50 years old. Obtaining government-issue photo identification can be challenging at any age. Lack of photo identification is more common among those over the age of 65. Eighteen percent of American citizens age 65 and above do not have current government-issued photo ID’s. 

Using 2005 census estimates, this amounts to more than 6 million senior citizens. Even for the voter who has all the documentation required, there will still be the work of copying and compiling these documents. 

The issues being addressed in this discussion are essentially an effort to strike a balance between preventing election fraud and protecting and maximizing our citizen’s right to vote. Where fraud exists, of course, it should be prosecuted and punished. 

To date, there has been little if any evidence of such fraudulent activities. Without legitimate evidence of fraudulent behavior in the Texas election system there is no justification to jeopardize senior Texans’ right to vote. Implementing new barriers to voting, like voter ID requirements, seems to be a solution in search of problem. 

Texas today faces some very serious challenges, such as mounting job losses and a quarter of its population lacking health insurance. It’s quite disappointing that our Legislature is using so much of its limited time in Austin on what essentially is a non-issue. 

I urge the Texas Legislature to address the real issues facing Texas families and to address the real challenges in our election system. 

The right to vote, along with full and fair representation in the election process is the most basic of all political rights and it should be protected. Many of those who will be disenfranchised by this legislation are those who most depend on government to protect their rights. Please help protect their right to vote for you and other elected officials who have the power to make such a difference in their lives. 

Thank you.