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The Right Prescription
AARP Stands by as Obama Gets Mugged by Reality
The President’s erstwhile ally in the Obamacare debate says it doesn’t want to get involved.
During last week’s presidential debate, realizing that he was taking a beating on the Medicare solvency issue, Barack Obama issued the following cri de coeur: “AARP thinks that the savings that we obtained from Medicare bolster the system, lengthen the Medicare trust fund by eight years.” Later, after enduring several more blows to his credibility, the President went on to claim AARP agreed with him that Romney’s plan would weaken Medicare. Oddly, the “senior advocacy organization” took offense at these remarks. Having provided full-throated support to the President and the Democrats on Obamacare, and resisted Medicare reform, AARP has begun to revert to its nonpartisan pose now that Obama appears to be in trouble.
On Thursday, AARP issued this statement: “AARP has never consented to the use of its name by any candidate or political campaign. AARP is a nonpartisan organization and we do not endorse political candidates nor coordinate with any candidate or political party.” The hypocrisy of this statement is breathtaking. AARP actively supported Obama and congressional Democrats on Obamacare knowing full well that it would cut Medicare Advantage (MA), an enormously popular program among seniors, by $200 billion. This obvious betrayal of its members was driven by the knowledge that these MA cuts would force millions of seniors back to traditional Medicare and create a captive market for AARP’s “Medigap” policies.
As I have written previously, this conflict of interest was not lost on the House Ways and Means Committee. Last year, it conducted hearings for the purpose of “getting to the bottom of how AARP’s financial interests affect their self-stated mission of enhancing senior’s quality of life. It is important to better understand how AARP’s insurance business overlaps with its advocacy efforts and whether such overlap is appropriate.” This didn’t require much digging. AARP derives only about 20% its annual revenue from membership dues. Meanwhile, the organization earns more than $1 billion per year by endorsing various products, including “Medigap” insurance policies that pay medical charges not covered by traditional Medicare.
This is why AARP still supports the Obama administration’s fiscally unsustainable policy of pursuing the status quo on entitlements, and why it stands in the way of the Medicare reform proposal sponsored by Paul Ryan and Democrat Ron Wyden. AARP’s official position on the Ryan-Wyden plan is that they continue to review it to make sure that it doesn’t “result in more cost shifting to older Americans, and whether it will improve health care quality and delivery.” Its actual position, however, was made abundantly clear when Ryan spoke to the AARP convention in September. Ryan was booed every time he mentioned the repeal of Obamacare or voiced opposition to the irresponsible Obama policy on Social Security.
But don’t mistake those boos for the sentiments of the rank-and-file members of AARP. As evidenced by a staff report prepared in September for Jim DeMint and a Politico column the GOP Senator wrote to highlight its findings, the people who pay membership dues to the organization were overwhelming against ObamaCare even as AARP pushed for its passage: “AARP endorsed ‘Obamacare,’ though the organization’s call response logs indicate opponents outnumbered supporters by more than 50 to 1.” In other words, AARP ignored the obvious wishes of its own members. Thus DeMint concludes, “AARP knows it can protect its financial interests by aligning with Democrats, no matter what its members think.”
Unless, of course, it begins to look like the Democrats and their President might get the bum’s rush in November. By the time Mitt Romney had locked up the GOP presidential nomination and actually began to pull ahead in some polls after choosing Paul Ryan as his running mate, AARP began to put some distance itself and the Obama administration. This is why, when the Obama re-election campaign began running campaign ads invoking AARP “studies” showing that the Ryan-Wyden plan would somehow lead to higher costs for seniors, AARP issued the following statement: “We were not aware of nor have any involvement with this campaign ad. AARP is a nonpartisan organization and we do not endorse political candidates.”
Conspicuously absent from this August statement, however, was any attempt to refute the content of the ad, which contained a number of brazen misrepresentations, including the claim that the Republican plan was a “voucher” system and that it would raise costs to seniors by “more than $6,000.” This reluctance to set the record straight was also evident, after last week’s debate, when AARP reiterated its ostensible policy of not endorsing political candidates. The organization allegedly remains “focused on providing voters with balanced information on where candidates stand on the key issues, so they can make their own decisions on Election Day,” yet failed to refute even the most preposterous of Obama’s claims.
Still, reading between the lines of AARP’s post-debate statement, it’s possible to detect some uneasiness on the part of the organization’s executives. It’s unlikely that the reference to the “You’ve Earned a Say” campaign is unconnected with the public exposure of their utter indifference to the 50 to 1 opposition of AARP’s members to Obamacare. If Obama and the Democrats continue to be mugged by the ugly realities they have created, we’ll hear more from AARP about nonpartisanship and to see its leadership stand idly by as their erstwhile friends endure the beating. But it’s probably too late. If the GOP gains control of the White House and the Senate, the AARP will lose its cash cow after a well-deserved roughing up.
About the Author
David Catron is a health care revenue cycle expert who has spent more than twenty years working for and consulting with hospitals and medical practices. He has an MBA from the University of Georgia and blogs at Health Care BS.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (42) | Leave a comment
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clayusmcret| 10.8.12 @ 6:54AM
AARP climbed in bed with the dems for obamacare and lost all credibility of independence or integrity.
oldeham| 10.8.12 @ 7:15AM
And you think perhaps the boycott by free thinking geezers of the AARP products has not hurt their bottom line?
clayusmcret| 10.8.12 @ 7:52AM
Well, after a number of "terse" responses they've finally stopped asking me to join.
A. C. Santore| 10.8.12 @ 11:49AM
And I, as soon as I learned that AARP was supporting Obamacare, I wrote a frank letter to the president of AARP (I forget his name) telling him that I recognized their ploy and objected to it, quit my membership, and sent him my membership card cut in half.
I have received no response yet. Waste of my time.
Gary B| 10.8.12 @ 8:09PM
I did the same thing to the AARP as I did to the GOP fund-raising letters... tossed them in to the trash. As I'm sure you know, there are other senior groups that hold conservative values. The AARP is dead to me.
Frekki| 10.8.12 @ 7:30AM
There's no polite way to say this. F the AARP. I throw out every piece of mail they send me. I would like to glue their return mailers to bricks but the Post Office no longer falls for that. I hope the AARP dies.
tankrtrash| 10.8.12 @ 7:41AM
The return mailers are an excellent way to get rid of the other junk mail I receive.
In fact, AARP's stopped sending me their crap.
Buck Ofama| 10.8.12 @ 1:44PM
I like that one... will have to start sending junk to AARP... Anti-American Rat Pricks.
Butch| 10.8.12 @ 2:11PM
Tape it to a brick. USPS has to honor it, I think. Hell, tape it to an anvil.
DTOM| 10.8.12 @ 9:01AM
A taxpaying American joining AARP makes as much sense as a black American joining the Democrat Party.
DTOM
PS. I moved and AARP thought they found a new turkey in me. Until they started getting their two pound post paid non-responses to their siren song junk mail...please repeat this tactic as others here have. AARP needs to be STOPPED. They are just another version of "Planned Parenthood" which uses deception to collect well-intentioned donations (some) and infanticide of in utero innocents, mostly of minority mothers. Really. DTOM.
Houdini| 10.8.12 @ 10:32AM
AARP has been losing members since the obamacare fiasco...my wife and I included. Maybe they've seen the light, no matter....still can't trust 'em
Appleby| 10.8.12 @ 7:35AM
One thing they don't mention is the number of shredded AARP cards they are receiving in every delivery of the mail. My brother in law is retired from Blue Cross in NY and he can bear witness to the firestorm among Medicare Advantage clients about this Obama mugging. I have heard that there is an alternative organization now scooping up those former members, but I don't know what the name of it is.
DerKrieger| 10.8.12 @ 9:51AM
It's AMAC, the Association of Mature American Citizens. http://amac.us/
Mark Levin endorses and promotes them regularly on his shw.
SUBVET| 10.8.12 @ 11:31AM
Queen apple can't get Mark where she lives...........
doramin| 10.8.12 @ 6:26PM
The stated fact that AARP gets only 20% of it's annual schwag from membership dues says everything.
They can afford to blow off their membership while they whore themselves to the democrats (and vice versa). I only wished the repubs and Romney would have the stones to really stick it to them when they take the helm.
Joellen| 10.8.12 @ 8:07AM
AARP holds hands with the devil. If you are of age and need to join an insurance group go with Generation America or Amax(?). Both of these groups are conservative alternatives so no need to be in bed with the evil ones.
Von Mises Jr| 10.8.12 @ 8:44AM
AARP is engaged in crony capitalism just like GE, Buffet and Goldman. Our current fascism is an attempt by major companies to get in bed with DC government looking for handouts and advantageous regulations.
They should be shunned by seniors no matter what. They chose government protection money as the better alternative than serving their customers.
Al Adab| 10.8.12 @ 9:24AM
Both of you are correct indeed. AARP manages to gain membership through the connections with various insurance plans which are available to "members". They lobby heavily against the interest of their members while taking the money to the bank. Whether voters realize where their self interest actually lies is another question.
CJW| 10.8.12 @ 11:40AM
AARP would not be distancing itself from Obama if it was confident Obama would win. The rats are jumping ship. AARP, the Hollywood libs, ... Look for Bubba to isssue one of his famous "It depends on the meaning of .......statements"
Von Mises Jr| 10.8.12 @ 11:46AM
Bubba got burned cavorting with the devil. Benghazi assassinations did not stick to the Coptic Christian film maker or the CIA. Now Shrillary is in the Obama crosshairs.
Stay tuned. This might get interesting with the CIA Officials and Shrillary being put on the spot under Oath.
Gary B| 10.8.12 @ 8:14PM
Von Mises: Milton Friedman said there are two groups of people who hate the free market... college professors and CEOs. Witnessing all this cronyism in DC, I believe it.
Bob Grant| 10.8.12 @ 8:30AM
The backdrop in the above pic appears to be a comedy club.
What, is obama now doing comedy bits on how he's destroying Medicare via obamacare?
" Did you hear the one about the senior who was denied hip replacement surgery because the quota had been exceeded for their zip code? ...
"...boy...lemme tell ya...it's a rough crowd out there..."
CJW| 10.8.12 @ 11:43AM
Bob
Obama's health panels will make the old joke part of its plan:
"Doc, it hurts when I move my ............"
"Don't move your.................."
DerKrieger| 10.8.12 @ 9:50AM
The conservative alternative to the AARP s AMAC
http://amac.us/
Kwan| 10.8.12 @ 10:20AM
The AARP like the Democrat Party depend on ignorance to succeed. When the people awakened to the AARP's deception ( Supporting the fraudulent ObamaCare the AARP betrayed its membership in order to support "reform" for White House favors in return.) angry members bailed out of the AARP. The 2010 mid-term elections saw Democrats being tossed out of office by angry voters regarding this scamboozle ObamaCare. Ignorance is not necessarily a permanent condition, Obama will find out on November 6th that the population of suckers, saps, and morons that he counted on in 2008 has declined as more and more of them are experiencing the negative results of Obama's "War on America".
Pecos Pete| 10.8.12 @ 10:33AM
We can only Hope that AARP will Change to a bankrupt organization. AARP is a leftist/liberal/progressive organization managed and staffed by Obamaiacs.
Anyone sending AARP membership dues is stuck on stupid.
Doplar| 10.8.12 @ 10:41AM
Thank you for this article. I am 65 yrs young and do not and will not belong to any organization this left sided and that operates primarily out of it's own self interest. Now they have shown themselves to be liars to boot. Seniors who support this organization through membership should be ashamed of themselves. IMMHO :-)
Doplar| 10.8.12 @ 10:48AM
Maybe they haven't consented to have their name used to endorse any political party, but they were found out a long time ago.
spike59| 10.8.12 @ 3:51PM
they are quoted on ObaMao campaign ads...hilariously described as 'the non-partisan AARP'
SJH| 10.8.12 @ 11:10AM
Honor among thieves...
John II| 10.8.12 @ 1:08PM
As I get closer to 70, I seem to be getting as many as three hits per month from the junk-mail generator at AARP. The obviously mendacious announcement of their political neutrality seems to me further evidence that AARP's membership is bleeding pretty heavily. I'd sure like to see the figures.
And now back to "Grumpy Old Men" (1993), in which several aged Hollywood lefties reveal some charmingly conservative dispositions. Burgess Meredith is particularly effective in the role of Jack Lemmon's nonagenarian father.
Mazzuchelli| 10.8.12 @ 1:56PM
AARP lost any moral standing they might have had during George W. Bush's presidency. That organization fought him tooth in nail on television and in print. AARP is run by a pack of thoughtless far lefties.
Jay Stevens| 10.8.12 @ 2:25PM
I am 66, but still working. For years (way before Obama), I have been simply pitching the AARP mailers.
I will probably join AMAC when I retire.
Intelligent Design| 10.8.12 @ 3:12PM
Getting bombarded with junk mail from AARP? Have your "nephew" or your "wife" write to them and say you are "deceased".
Gary B| 10.8.12 @ 8:22PM
I like the brick response better.
In fact, how about this for a business idea? It's based on FTD business model. You call an 800 number and dictate a note. It's sent to the appropriate city. The local affiliate prints the note and wraps it around a brick. Then they drive to the address and throw the brick through their window. What do you think?
soljerblue| 10.8.12 @ 9:59PM
All of which underscores the fact that AARP will throw Obama under the bus, if necessary, to save their cash flow. How deliciously ironic! No one seems able to come up with figures, but AARP has lost a slew of members since it opted to support the PPACA. Methinks those chickens, too, may be coming home to roost.
Herald7| 10.8.12 @ 11:47PM
Any one with a wit of adult responsibility will reject entitlement selfishness and actually give a care for the future of the nation.
The "Greatest Generation" is all about this, right?
John II| 10.8.12 @ 11:59PM
The word is spelled "whit," not "wit," Harry. And I'm not so sure about the "Greatest Generation." After all, the "Greatest Generation" gave us the Boomers, which would include the Professor himself.
Enchanted| 10.9.12 @ 9:51AM
AARP is a heavy supporter of the democratic party. However as the pendulum swings, they know that this could alienate them from millions of people that like last time will tear up their card and tell them to get lost. For AARP, it is all about the bottom line and nothing else.
sotto voce| 10.9.12 @ 5:58PM
AARP is a corrupt organization. When they sent me a membership solicitation I cut up the enclosed card and returned it in the postage-paid envelope with a note explaining their support of Obamacare lost me forever. I haven't heard from them since.
Jimbobogie| 10.10.12 @ 12:01AM
Has anybody bothered to work some numbers (they appear to be working numbers on just about everything) on the percentage of Americans who are 65 or over? I'm betting that, on a year-over-year basis, that percentage will be, to say the least, "sobering". Methinks that this will be a major factor going forward-people are simply living much longer these days (in football terms you could say that they've "Outkicked their Coverage")-unless we establish "Death Panels", of course...
Jimbobogie| 10.13.12 @ 2:12PM
I'm "surprised" that neither candidate has mentioned the tiny issue that, thanks to advanced medicial/health care developments, people over 65 aren't dying as quickly as they used to-folks, that's BAD FOR THE ECONOMY-LIKE IT OR NOT! Seniors' entitlements are going to continue to grow at a faster rate than the economy can support them. BTW, much has been made about the unemployment rate now, as opposed to back in the "Days of Ron". Why has nobody mentioned the real culprit-the advent of Global Free Trade? Somewhere, the spirit of Chairman Mao is laughing. Those "Job Creators" have created jobs-just not on this side of the ocean-it's called Economics 101...and all that the Chinese (or any other Asian/South American) country has to do is wait...