By LYDIA DePILLIS
Contributing Writer

When Steve Kofahl advised a room full of retirees to avoid getting a parking ticket because they would need that $35 when they fell into the doughnut hole, he was only partially joking.

Kofahl, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 3937, was referring to the coverage gap in the federal prescription drug benefit that forces middle-income Medicare beneficiaries to pay for most or all of their prescriptions. That shortfall, along with a host of other problems faced by aging Americans, was discussed at a public forum organized by the Washington Alliance for Retired Americans at the Seattle Labor Temple on June 10.

Most conversation, however, centered around the fallout from an event in Washington D.C. six months ago: the White House Conference on Aging, where 1,200 delegates gathered to make policy recommendations on issues of importance to the elderly. American presidents have attended the once-a-decade conference since the first was called by Harry Truman in 1950 — until last December, when President Bush chose instead to speak to a gated retirement community in suburban Virginia about his prescription drug plan.

His absence, although covered lightly in the national media, did not go over well with those in the aging community who still managed to find out. Delegates complained of other abuses: all resolutions were pre-written by the conference’s policy committee, using more general language than what they had submitted in the months before.

“I’m really disgusted with how the White House Conference on Aging was put together, and the way they treated the delegates,” said forum attendee Edie Koch, who expressed frustration at reports from those present at the conference. “You go with enthusiasm and hope in your heart that something marvelous is going to happen. It was all pre-programmed.”

Kofahl, appointed to attend the conference by Congressman Jay Inslee (D – N. King County), told of facilitators who discouraged debate, rare opportunities to meet with other delegates and discuss resolutions, abrupt procedural changes, and pervasive corporate sponsorship. In addition, he questioned the accuracy of the tabulation of votes on the conference’s top 10 resolutions: Social Security came in 11th, despite a widespread concern for the problem among delegates. At the insistence of Kofahl and others, the top 50 resolutions will be delivered to Congressmembers and the White House in early July.

Several speakers praised Gov. Christine Gregoire, who penned a six-page letter to the conference chair in April voicing concerns with how the conference was run and commenting on several of the proposed resolutions. One audience member, JoAnne McGaw, expressed optimism that Gregoire will organize other governors in the way that Seattle’s Greg Nickels has led other mayors around sustainability and climate change.

Congressman Jim McDermott also addressed the forum, roundly criticizing the Bush Administration for its failed effort to privatize Social Security.

“Don’t think for a minute that they’re not still out there, ready to come back and try to do it again next year,” he cautioned. “The neocons and this president, they’re clearly after us.” Mentions of a Democratic takeover of Congress and universal health insurance received loud applause.

One element of the Medicare legislation in particular, Part D, drew fire from forum speakers. Under the new law, which took effect on Jan. 1, Medicare may not negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices, putting a financial strain on many seniors and placing a large burden on the taxpayers, who shoulder 75 percent of the costs. By contrast, the Veterans Administration is allowed to negotiate, securing 40-60 percent lower prices for its five million beneficiaries.

As the forum wound up, it took on the feeling of a pep rally, with stories from those who had trouble obtaining prescriptions under the new plan, and speeches against Medicare privatization. Delegate Will Parry, president of the Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans, issued a challenge.