Report Exposes AARP’s Lucrative Financial Relationship with UnitedHealth, Nation’s Largest Health Insurer
Washington, D.C. — January 11, 2023 — American Commitment today released a newly-updated report exposing AARP’s financial relationship with UnitedHealth, the nation’s largest health insurance company. The original research explores AARP’s financial ties to the corporate insurance giant and questions their influence on AARP’s positions and advocacy on healthcare policy matters.
The study, “How AARP Puts Profits over Patients—And Principles,” was commissioned by American Commitment as part of its Commitment to Seniors initiative and conducted by Juniper Research Group CEO Chris Jacobs. In the report, Jacobs contends that AARP has grown into a marketing and sales firm and supports legislation, most recently the “Inflation Reduction Act,” that financially benefits its corporate partners to the detriment of the seniors it claims to represent.
“This newly-updated report provides further evidence that AARP does not serve the interests of seniors, but rather its principal funders, UnitedHealth and its subsidiary OptumRx—the largest health insurance company in the country and pharmacy middleman, respectively,” said Phil Kerpen, president of American Commitment. “AARP has made its allegiance to these companies clear through its support of the ‘Inflation Reduction Act,’ which siphons billions of dollars from seniors’ Medicare to subsidize big health insurers and liberal spending priorities.”
As the report states, “an exploration of the record shows not just that AARP holds serious conflicts of interest, but that AARP’s financial conflicts have prompted the organization to abandon its principles on numerous occasions, pursuing financial gain for itself and its partners over the organization’s stated mission and policy objectives—and its members.”
Ultimately, the report renews calls for Congress to investigate AARP’s dealings:
“Congress has investigated AARP and its financial dealings on more than one occasion. It should do so again, and determine whether any legislative and/or regulatory actions—requiring AARP to disclose its financial conflicts to seniors when they apply for Medigap coverage, for instance—can protect AARP’s members from the organization’s transformation into a marketing and advocacy arm of UnitedHealth Group.”
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American Commitment is dedicated to restoring and protecting our nation’s commitment to free markets, economic growth, Constitutionally-limited government, property rights, and individual freedom. American Commitment engages in critical public policy fights over the size and intrusiveness of government through direct advocacy, strategic policy analysis, and grassroots mobilization. Visit us online at www.AmericanCommitment.org.
Juniper Research Group is a consulting and analytics firm based in Washington, DC, led by CEO Chris Jacobs, a noted policy analyst and author whose opinions and work has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Politico and other national news platforms. Jacobs previously served as a Senior Policy Analyst for the Heritage Foundation and the Congressional Joint Economic Committee, as well as a policy advisor to Members of Congress on Capitol Hill. He is the author of “The Case Against Single Payer.” More about Juniper Research Group can be found online at www.JuniperResearchGroup.com.