A recent article from Crystal Graham highlights AARP’s disappointment that the Virginia legislature rejected the creation of a so-called “Prescription Drug Affordability Board” (PDAB). In doing so, AARP has once again revealed the enormous disconnect between the organizations stated policy objectives and the interests of senior citizens whom they purport to represent.
Learn MoreWhy would an organization that claims to advocate for seniors support a bill that raided nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars from Medicare? As with most things in Washington, the answer comes by following the money. In passing the inaptly named Inflation Reduction Act last year, Democrats reduced Medicare spending by more than $250 billion — most of which lawmakers used to fund climate pork, hiring 87,000 IRS agents and other unrelated priorities.
Learn MoreHere in Wyoming and across the country, people enrolled in Medicare are engaged in the annual task of assessing their supplemental insurance coverage. Insurance companies anxious to acquire more customers have flooded my mail box with pitches urging me to sign up before the open enrollment period ends Dec. 7. The supplemental plans, known as Medigap, are offered by private insurers to cover some or all of the out-of-pocket costs that Medicare Parts A and…
Learn MoreDespite massive and systemic problems with for-profit Medicare plans denying care to seniors while costing the government more than $7 billion annually in excess fees, the leading advocacy group tasked with protecting older Americans is welcoming the privatization of the national health insurance program — while earning as much as $814 million annually from insurers advertising the plans. The state of affairs lays bare a conflict inside AARP, the major advocacy organization for Americans fifty and older, over…
Learn MoreThere’s no way to get around it: the newly enacted Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) marks a terrible blow to American seniors. For the millions of older Americans on Medicare, the future of medical innovation is much dimmer, as will be their access to critical prescription drugs. But AARP – the supposed bastion of senior advocacy – is apparently unfazed. It recently concluded a victory tour, which included an event in Arizona celebrating the bill’s enactment as a historic achievement for seniors. Government price controls…
Learn MoreThe AARP name has become a marketing juggernaut among baby boomers, with the group’s nearly 38 million members receiving offers for AARP-branded health, life and auto insurance, and discounts on cellphones, travel, car rentals and even pet insurance. One of its most popular branded products is the high-end AARP MedicareRx Preferred plan, insured by UnitedHealth Group Inc., UNH 0.30%increase; green up pointing triangle and it carries the highest premiums among all national stand-alone Medicare drug plans. For many boomer retirees,…
Learn MoreAARP Pennsylvania State Director Bill Johnston-Walsh’s opinion piece on the so-called “historic victory” that is the Inflation Reduction Act follows his organization’s misleading narrative. Claiming that a drug “price negotiation” scheme in Medicare will help seniors could not be any further from reality. Instead, the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare provisions make American health care worse. This new federal law imposes an arbitrary “price negotiation” mandate, which decreases investments in research and development, minimizes patient access…
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Seniors are being deceived. President Joe Biden’s plainly misnamed “Inflation Reduction Act” will significantly harm America’s healthcare system. Its drug pricing provisions undermine the incentives for creating cutting-edge medicines and make it harder for seniors to access the prescription drugs they count on under Medicare. But that’s not what they’re being told. The prime culprit for deceiving seniors is AARP, which recently held a town hall heralding the legislation’s passage into law as a “momentous victory,” which might be true for…
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