AARP has a vested interest in health care ‘reform’

If you’re a senior, and you believe AARP is looking out for your interests when advocating for health care reform, you need to read this article from the Washington Post. It looks like the only people AARP is looking out for are its executives.

The nation’s preeminent seniors group, AARP, has put the weight of its 40 million members behind health-care reform, saying many of the proposals will lower costs and increase the quality of care for older Americans.

But not advertised in this lobbying campaign have been the group’s substantial earnings from insurance royalties and the potential benefits that could come its way from many of the reform proposals.

The group and its subsidiaries collected more than $650 million in royalties and other fees last year from the sale of insurance policies, credit cards and other products that carry the AARP name, accounting for the majority of its $1.14 billion in revenue, according to federal tax records. It does not directly sell insurance policies but lends its name to plans in exchange for a tax-exempt cut of the premiums.

The organization, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons, also heavily markets the policies on its Web site, in mailings to its members and through ubiquitous advertising targeted at seniors.

The group’s dual role as an insurance reformer and a broker has come under increasing scrutiny in recent weeks from congressional Republicans, who accuse it of having a conflict of interest in taking sides in the fierce debate over health insurance. Three House Republicans sent a letter to AARP on Monday complaining that the group was putting its “political self-interests” ahead of seniors.

GOP lawmakers point to AARP’s thriving business in marketing branded Medigap policies, which provide supplemental coverage for standard Medicare plans available to the elderly. Democratic proposals to slash reimbursements for another program, called Medicare Advantage, are widely expected to drive up demand for private Medigap policies like the ones offered by AARP, according to health-care experts, legislative aides and documents.

There’s more. AARP executives won’t be subject to limits on insurance executive pay proposed by Senate democrats. This is just another example of mutual back scratching between special interest groups and democrats in Congress. AARP is using your money to bankrupt your grandchildren and decrease your level of care.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 1:36 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.