Health care in the U.S. is in crisis, as I'm sure you know.  Many organizations are fighting over who will exert the most power and influence going forward.  In the past, the pharmaceutical companies, American Medical Association, and various groups representing hospitals have held enormous power.  They still do, but there are others who are emerging as forces that will shape the nature of this debate.  Perhaps the largest in this country is AARP, which many see as a group representing our grandmothers.  Actually, AARP has been recruiting members of younger and younger ages (50+) and has an enormous impact in Washington and in other states. 



  AARP is currently in the midst of a massive campaign called Divided We Fail in which they are appealing to citizens of both political parties to come together rather than work against each other per usual.  Their ads feature children as well as adults, movie stars as well as regular people,  imploring us to be rational and work together to insure the following:

• All Americans should have access to affordable health care, including prescription drugs, and these costs should not burden future generations.
• Wellness and prevention activities, including changes in personal behavior such as diet and exercise, should be top national priorities.
• Americans should have choices when it comes to long term care- allowing them to maintain their independence at home or in their communities with expanded and affordable financing options.

AARP also requests that voters take a pledge to vote for candidates who support the agenda.  With millions of members, this is a serious effort and should be regarded with more than passing interest.  It is also scary to a lot of folks who want business as usual.  But the voice of the people is being heard.  AARP is driving much of this effort.  The campaign is founded on the following statement:

"Instead of bringing solutions to this problem, politicians in Washington have been content to stall, to argue, to criticize and to blame each other. While they play politics, we are left with huge health care bills, health care premiums and deductibles that are climbing through the roof, eroding benefits and little hope of reasonable, common-sense, balanced solutions."
Their aim?  To improve the health care system by making it more affordable, boosting quality and eliminating waste.

47 millions Americans, many of them children and young adults need this now.  The rest of us with health insurance need this to occur because our insurance rates are climbing at around 8%-10% a year to pay for those who are uninsured and for the cost increases borne through inefficiency, greed and waste.  It's about time!