When evaluating an advocacy group’s views on public policy, it helps to consider the source. In the case of AARP, that means scrutinizing the sizable conflicts of interest that compromise the organization’s policy positions. Even as it lobbies for a permanent extension of enhanced Obamacare subsidies to make insurance “affordable,” AARP funds that lobbying by making health coverage less affordable for its own members.
A glance at AARP’s most recent financial statements shows a glaring conflict. Last year, the organization received $9.1 billion—that’s billion with a “B”—from its restructured contract with UnitedHealth. The one-time, tax-free payment constituted an advance on future royalties from selling UnitedHealth insurance policies.