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AARP gets behind health care bills ... will members?
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President Obama at an AARP forum on health care earlier this year. AARP CEO Barry Rand is at left.
AARP announced today it will put its full weight behind two health care reform bills currently in the U.S. House.
It will use the power of its lobbying strength -- through publications, paid advertising, calls and e-mails -- to get the bills passed.
But will the organization that seeks to represent the interests of Baby Boomers older than 50 and seniors also have the weight of the members as it lobbies?
Certainly, AARP as an organization has taken the time to study the need for health care reform and believes the two House bills -- the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962) and the accompanying Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act (H.R. 3961) -- get America where is needs to be on the issue.
But the members of the organization are divided on the question of reform and a lot of that division comes from the very generations that the AARP represents.
On the one hand are the people are the seniors -- those over 65 -- who are on Medicare. Many fear that reform will come at the price of less health care through their Medicare.
On the other hand are the Baby Boomers who, like many other Americans, struggle to afford decent health care and are desperate for change. They've seen their employer plans go up in cost, they've seen their share of that cost rise, they've seen their co-pays go up, they've seen their deductibles go up. They now pay co-insurance premiums of 30 percent when that was unheard of five years ago. They've seen their children, out of college and struggling to find a job, kicked off their parents health plans. They've seen the cost go up and the quality of their care go down.
A statement today from AARP CEO Barry Rand outlined the benefits the organization sees from the two bills:
- Protecting and strengthening Medicare for today’s seniors and future generations of retirees;
- Ensuring seniors can see the doctor of their choice or find a doctor if they need one by improving Medicare’s payments to doctors;
- Lowering drug costs for seniors by closing the Medicare Part D “doughnut hole” and allowing Medicare to negotiate with drug makers for lower drug prices;
- Taking steps to reduce waste, fraud, abuse and inefficiency in the Medicare program;
- Requiring Medicare and insurance companies to provide for important preventive services like screenings for diabetes, cancer and osteoporosis free of charge;
- Stopping insurance companies from denying you affordable coverage because of your age;
- Preventing insurance companies from denying you coverage if you have a pre-existing condition or dropping your coverage if you get sick;
- Limiting how much your insurance company can make you pay out-of-pocket;
- Providing affordable health insurance options for those who don’t have insurance; and
- Providing benefits to help seniors and people with disabilities live in their own homes and communities by establishing the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program.
“As members of the House gear up for this historic vote, they will hear from older Americans,” Rand said.
Let's hope so ... from Baby Boomers and seniors alike.
President Obama calls AARP backing of health care reform bill "no small endorsement."
