AARP IS STILL ON MY RADAR!

While the furor over healthcare reform has somewhat died down in the face of overwhelming opposition from “We the People” and the election of Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown – who ran on killing Obama’s healthcare initiative – I have not lost sight of AARP’s attempt to stab me in the back.

It was with much disgust that I received an e-mail headlined “Member Benefits Alert” which contained this missive …

We're Committed to You For over 50 years, AARP has been committed to enriching the lives of our members and acting as champions for social change. Whether you are looking for financial planning advice, games, an article from one of the AARP publications, fitness routines, volunteering or information about your valuable AARP member benefits, visit us at [website deleted]  today!

If AARP was committed to senior citizens, why were they using their member’s hard-earned membership dues to promote a program which:

Removed at least $500 billion from the Medicare Advantage program, reducing its benefits and increasing its costs.

Supported a healthcare initiative which implemented a “best practices” policy when it came to reimbursement for payments related to medical care and prescription drugs – full well knowing that there would be millions of people who fell outside of the effectiveness of standard medical treatment and the efficacy of “generic drugs.” Running a medical plan based on the work of statisticians rather than physicians.

Supported a healthcare initiative which was over 2000+ pages of dense legalese and which contained perks and privileges – not for all citizens – but for the citizens in certain states; coincidently those states with elected democrat representatives who withheld their vote until the last minute.

Featured “rigged” cost estimates such as significant physician expenses being treated as a separate bill so that the bill only “appeared” to be less expensive than it really is. Or hid the fact that people insured under this bill would be paying increased taxes for 4 years before the services were available. Or included special funding from the special interests in the drug industry, the makers of medical equipment and other large groups with formidable lobbying power such as the insurance industry – AARP included.

Did not contain implementation details which were left up to the highly-politicized Secretary of Health and Human Services – who, not so coincidently, serves at the pleasure of the President of the United States and is charged with carrying out his political agenda.

And much, much more.

So I am not exactly thrilled when I see …

As the largest advocacy group in the nation, we are continually working on opportunity, security and justice for all. This helps us improve the quality of life for everyone as they age. From keeping our elected officials true to their word on America's health and financial security challenge to offering low-income outreach programs, AARP works for everyone. So many Americans over 50 struggle today. The AARP Foundation is our charitable arm and is dedicated to helping these people keep up with the rising costs of living.

How can I ever believe and trust AARP again? Especially when they note that the AARP Foundation is our charitable arm – full well-knowing that their separate profit-making insurance, travel and merchandising arm presents a clear-cut conflict of interest? Do you think that they did not take notice of the fact that the destruction of the Medicare Advantage program, which AARP does not offer, would give way to an increasingly expensive MEDI-GAP program which they do offer? Or that signing on to the Obama healthcare agenda would not have personal and professional benefits for AARP’s leadership?

Bottom line …

I can no longer trust AARP to represent my interests and now regard them as any other vendor of high-priced goods and services to be sold to the senior citizen market. Their foundation appears to me to be a corrupt and self-serving organization which tried to stab me in the back – all the while telling me they were protecting my interests.

Screw AARP!

-- steve