So often during the health care debate we’ve heard: “If you like it, you can keep it.” But who’s heard of this significant exception: “unless you’re a senior with a Medicare health plan”?
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office predicts that 3 million seniors will lose their Medicare health plan coverage and 3 million fewer seniors will enroll in such a plan if the current bill passed through the Ways and Means Committee, H.R. 3200, becomes law.
With a large senior constituency and an array of health insurance products to sell, there’s a lot at stake for AARP in the health care debate. In public statements, and during a personal meeting in my office in July, AARP representatives have advocated for H.R. 3200, stating: “This bill would make great strides for all of our members and their families,” yet the bill contains nearly $500 billion in Medicare cuts, including $156 billion in cuts to Medicare health plans affecting 14 million seniors, many of whom are likely AARP members. In short, they have vocally supported a proposal that would cut Medicare benefits, and I find that curious.
Why would an organization that has historically advocated for our seniors aggressively support such a bill? This week, I put that question – and many more – into writing. I am concerned about the cuts to Medicare, and that our seniors may be left without the care they need and deserve. From where I sit, there appears to be a direct conflict of interest between AARP’s advocacy for legislation that slashes the Medicare Advantage program – in which millions of seniors participate – and the sale of AARP-sponsored Medigap plans.
This week the House Republican Conference released a study about this very topic. “A review of its financial statements finds that in 2008, AARP received more than half a billion dollars in revenue from selling products like Medigap supplemental insurance policies-$652.7 million in direct “royalties and fees,” and an increase of more than 31 percent from the $497.6 million in similar revenue AARP generated in 2007.”
Has AARP lost sight of its mission? Is it now only acting to preserve its own interests? I intend to find out.
Has AARP lost sight of its mission?
izoneguy Thursday, September 24th at 11:59AM EDT (link)It’s mission is to make money. It is an evil capitalist corporation that sees cover using this Trojan Donkey that gets passed off as “HealthCare Reform”……
Conflict of Interest - YES
“When the government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.”
Thomas Jefferson
would that be the phony mission
kyle8 Thursday, September 24th at 12:38PM EDT (link)of being an advocate for older persons? or the actual mission of being a wholly owned subsidiary of the Democratic Party?
“Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty”
Kyle
How does a "non-profit"
illinoisconservative Thursday, September 24th at 3:19PM EDT (link)organization rack up $653 Billion in revenues??
How much of that is profit, and where do the profits go?
Thanks for being on top of this, Dave.. and good luck!
I've said it before and I'll say it again
suzieQ Thursday, September 24th at 3:31PM EDT (link)They should get rid of Medicare anyway. Some courageous member of the House or Senate GOP should propose a bill that makes all socialized medicine illegal.
“It’s finally happened: Abortion stopped a bleeding heart.”
- Ann Coulter, January 25, 2006
“My concern about the role of the federal government is that an intrusive government, a government that says, ‘Don’t worry, we will solve your problems’ is a government that tends to crowd compassion out of the marketplace, that too often in the past people said: ‘Somebody else will take care of the problem in my area. Don’t worry. The government is here.’”
- George W. Bush October 31, 2000
“Had the decision belonged to Senator Kerry, Saddam Hussein would still be in power today in Iraq. In fact, Saddam Hussein would almost certainly still be in control of Kuwait.”
- Dick Cheney
that's the problem with socialism
kyle8 Thursday, September 24th at 3:43PM EDT (link)you can’t get rid of it once it starts. I am grateful that some of the opposition to Obamacare is coming from people who are concerned about their medicare entitlement.
But I am appalled as well because there should never have been a large group of Americans who are relying on a government program.
It is also an immoral program as it shifts costs away from the portion of the population with the most money (older people) and puts the burden on the least able to pay (young families and their children.)
“Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty”
Kyle
Lots are forced into Medicare even with private
Achance Thursday, September 24th at 6:56PM EDT (link)pensions. When I turn 65, my admittedly Cadillac HW plan associated with my retirement becomes my secondary coverage and Medicare becomes primary. And my wife and I have only fairly recently figured out that we don’t really know what happens to her because the State of Alaska hasn’t participated in Social Security since 1981, so she was only in SS from late ‘76 to mid-81, doesn’t have her 40 quarters in so unless she goes back to work with some private employer to get the remaining qualifying quarters, she’s not eligible for SS or Medicare. We’re working on getting some answers to that.
In Vino Veritas
Clarification:
Praying Thursday, September 24th at 6:42PM EDT (link)I believe the author of this post is referring to Medicare Advantage supplemental insurance that many seniors enjoy. It is the reason that most seniors say they are satisfied with their medicare insurance. Medicare Advantage programs like Cariten (offered through Humana Insurance) pay for many services that plain old gov’t issue medicare do not pay for. But seniors pay a premium for their Medicare Advantage insurance. It is not provided totally free by the gov’t. Why the gov’t should cut the one program which actually has members paying into it, and the one program that members are actually HAPPY with, is beyond me! I am getting close to “senior age” - heaven help me if I’m stuck with the gov’t basic issue medicare (maybe we should start calling it minicare). Heaven help us all if we get stuck with a gov’t basic issue health insurance program modeled after minicare. Our legislators won’t have to worry about this - they’ll get to keep their stinkin’ Cadillac health insurance plans. Something else we need to insist on - any plan they vote in for us, they’ll have to sign up for also. We need to all become the major thorns in the sides of our legislators, and phone or email them daily, saying NO on gov’t run health care, by any name (public option, co-ops, trigger option, etc.) or by any means (immediate, phased in, trigger option, etc.). We need LESS gov’t interference in our health care - to allow insurance cos. to sell across state lines and create some real free market competition for once. How can anyone say capitalism doesn’t work, when it hasn’t been allowed to exist without major gov’t interference over the past 100 years or more!!!
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