AARP puts 'political self-interests' above members
Jim Brown and Jody Brown - OneNewsNow - 11/11/2009 6:00:00 AM
Last week the American Medical Association and the AARP both endorsed the Democrats' House healthcare bill. AARP executive vice president Nancy LeaMond says the bill "meets our priorities for protecting Medicare, providing more affordable insurance for 50 to 64-year-olds, and reforming our healthcare system."
Stuart Barton, president of the American Seniors Association, an alternative to the AARP, believes the AARP supports the bill because it will make money off the legislation -- not because it will improve the health and wealth of seniors.
"The AARP has received over $2 billion in grants from the federal government over the past 15 or 20 years, and most people don't know that," Barton reports. "With having such a huge liberal agenda, it is really a travesty for them to get that sort of money. The Senate Finance Committee [has] passed this bill...[it refers to] a co-op, and this co-op is the AARP -- and they will be making money on the government-run option. They're going to handle it."
Barton says since the AARP's endorsement of the Democrats' healthcare bill, his group has experienced a spike in membership. Since Saturday night, the American Seniors Association president estimates the organization has fielded 4,000 e-mail requests for membership.
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The ASA president is not alone in his criticism of the AARP and its endorsement of government-run healthcare insurance. According to The Washington Post, three House Republicans have accused the AARP of putting its "political self-interests" ahead of seniors. Those lawmakers point to the organization's thriving business in marketing branded Medigap policies -- the demand for which is expected to increase as a result of Democratic proposals to slash reimbursements for Medicare Advantage.
The report also notes that Republicans on Capitol Hill question the high salaries of some top AARP executives, who would not be subject to limits on insurance executives' pay included in the Senate Finance Committee's healthcare reform package. "AARP is lobbying for a government-run healthcare bill that will pad their own executives' pockets at the expense of its own members and other vulnerable seniors," a House Republican spokesman told the Post.
