Wisconsin Alliance Calls Out GOP Senate Candidate Eric Hovde for Wanting to Raise the Retirement Age, Hosts Power Lunch

Members of the Wisconsin Alliance and young workers held a joint news conference on Monday to call out GOP Senate nominee Eric Hovde for his recent comments in favor of raising the retirement age for people under the age of 40. He would raise the retirement age as high as 72.

“Raising the retirement age is an affront to every person in Wisconsin who has paid into Social Security with every paycheck, regardless of their age. If the full retirement age were raised from 67 to 69, the median-wage retiree would lose thousands of dollars in benefits they have paid for and earned,” said Ross Winklbauer, President of the Wisconsin Alliance.

“And what about workers who are unable to perform strenuous physical labor at a later age?” Winklbauer added. “This is one more reason that we need to return Tammy Baldwin to the Senate.”

Following the news conference, the Wisconsin Alliance hosted its annual “Power Lunch.” Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT) was the keynote speaker and opened the event. He spoke about the importance of the Social Security Administration, the future of Social Security and efforts to increase benefits.

Half of Voters Plan to Cast Their Ballots Early

With less than a month to go before Election Day, 5% of registered voters said they had already cast their ballots (3% by mail and 2% in person), according to the new poll, which surveyed people between Oct. 4-8. Another 47% said they plan to vote early (20% by mail and 27% in person).

Overall, 52% of voters said they're planning to cast their ballots early this year, with 44% planning to vote in person on Election Day. That's similar to NBC News poll results from a similar point in the 2022 midterm elections.

In less than three full days of early voting in battleground state Georgia, just over 10% of registered voters in the state had already cast a ballot for the 2024 General Election as of Thursday.

Nationally, the partisan divide between those voting early and on Election Day remains dramatic, after years of former President Donald Trump and his GOP allies attacking the legitimacy of early voting. According to NBC News, Vice President Kamala Harris has a 17-point lead among those who plan to vote before Election Day or have already voted (57% to 40%). Trump leads among those planning to vote on Election Day by a 21-point margin, 58% to 37%.

“If you can, it is a good idea to vote early and lock in your vote,” said Joseph Peters, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “Doing so helps prevent unexpected Election Day complications or delays in delivery of mail ballots.”

Beware Scams During Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period

Open enrollment for Medicare began on Tuesday. Eligible beneficiaries have from October 15 – December 7 to shop around and make changes to their Medicare health and Part D prescription drug plans.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is warning the public to be on the look out for scammers who are using open enrollment as an opportunity to steal information by offering fake "help" with coverage. The BBB has provided several tips to avoid enrollment scams:

• Be wary of anyone who contacts you out of the blue. Healthcare.gov and Medicare provide legitimate help for determining which plan is right for you. If someone asks you for payment, it's a scam. Never join a Medicare health or drug plan over the phone unless you called them first.

• Be wary of free gifts and "health screenings." Keep a healthy level of skepticism any time a broker offers you free gifts or other special deals.

• Don't trust a name or number. Con artists use official-sounding names or mask their area codes to make you trust them. Don't fall for it.

• Guard your government-issued numbers. Never offer your Medicare ID number, Social Security number, health plan info, or banking information to anyone you don't know.

• Go directly to official websites. If you want to make changes to your healthcare plan, go directly to Medicare.gov, Healthcare.gov, or your employer's health insurance provider. Don't click on links in suspicious messages.

• Medicare will never call you to sell you anything or visit you at your home. Medicare, or someone representing Medicare, will only call and ask for personal information in limited situations.

Anyone who is unsure if they were contacted by Medicare or if they gave personal information to someone claiming to be with Medicare should call 1-800-MEDICARE to report it.

“The scams often begin with a phone call or text message that appears to be from a government agency,” said Robert Roach, Jr., President of the Alliance. “Scammers may also ask for an account number in order to enroll you in what they say is a better plan than what you already have. This is a common way to get your personal information in order to steal your identity and money.”

KFF Health News: Millions of Aging Americans Are Facing Dementia by Themselves

By Judith Graham

Sociologist Elena Portacolone was taken aback. Many of the older adults in San Francisco she visited at home for a research project were confused when she came to the door. They’d forgotten the appointment or couldn’t remember speaking to her.

It seemed clear they had some type of cognitive impairment. Yet they were living alone.

Portacolone, an associate professor at the University of California-San Francisco, wondered how common this was. Had anyone examined this group? How were they managing?

When she reviewed the research literature more than a decade ago, there was little there. “I realized this is a largely invisible population,” she said.

Read more here.

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