AARO in Action

The most striking result of this year's Overseas Americans Week (OAW) was the appointment of a member of the White House staff to specifically handle overseas Americans' issues with the administration and federal agencies. AARO and its sister organizations will be engaging in dialogue with the appointee, Bobby Schmuck, in the weeks and months to come to find new ways to work together on the issues of greatest importance to overseas Americans.

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Rep. Joe Sestak, a retired three-star admiral, serves on the House Committees on the Armed Forces, on Education and Labor and on Small Business.  AARO warmly welcomes Rep. Joe Sestak's participation in the Americans Abroad Caucus, a group of Congressional members that represents the interests of Americans living overseas.

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Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Joe Wilson (R-SC) have written to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to ask him to protect overseas Americans’ access to U.S. financial services. Read the press release and the letter to Secretary Geithner here.

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One issue which AARO took to Congress during Overseas Americans Week 2009 is medical coverage for eligible Medicare beneficiaries living outside the USA. This population cannot receive medical services paid for by Medicare anywhere except in the USA. AARO has lobbied for extension of Medicare to countries abroad for these beneficiaries, but has had no real traction on the issue until now. Suddenly certain members of Congress have shown an interest in supporting a limited study of the costs and consequences of extending Medicare to a foreign country, Mexico, as a means to determine whether cost-effective, high-quality care can be delivered outside the USA and be paid for by Medicare in what may be significant savings to the Medicare budget.

As Congress prepares for debate and negotiations on the bills likely to be submitted in June 2009 looking to a comprehensive Medicare overhaul by the end of the year (according to Congressional leadership’s schedule), groups representing Americans abroad, especially Americans for Medicare in Mexico A.C., have prepared a Demonstration Project proposal, the purpose of which is to lay the groundwork for a study, financed by Congress, of the conditions for and costs of delivering Medicare-level medical and hospitalization services to eligible Medicare beneficiaries in Mexico. AARO endorses this proposal and will do what it can to see that it is included in the Medicare overhaul legislation. It will inform members of progress and request their support for this proposal as and when the time for action comes.

Here is a sample letter that you can use to write your Senator and Congressman in support of the Mexican Demonstration project for Medicare.

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