News & Blogs

AARP: A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, but now officially standing for nothing) frequently touts itself as a consumer-focused organization. From a fraud watch helpline, to a podcast on issues facing seniors, to countless articles on how to protect yourself from scams, AARP goes to great lengths to portray itself as an organization vigilantly advocating for seniors’ well-being. But as it turns out; AARP’s coffers have been quietly filled each year by hundreds of millions of…

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Mass Marion: A bipartisan opportunity to cut drug prices

According to recent polls, Americans rank health care as their most important policy issue. President Trump reflected this concern in his State of the Union address, saying his “next major priority” is “to lower the cost of health care and prescription drugs — and to protect patients with pre-existing conditions.” A new rule introduced last week by the Department of Health and Human Services would strike at the root of rising prescription drug costs that…

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Rachel Bovard: AARP’s Corrupt Business Model Puts Seniors Last

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) remains one of the most powerful lobbying arms in the country, claiming to represent the interests of close to 40 million seniors. But it’s worth asking—whose interests are they really protecting, yours or theirs? Though politicians are loath to lob public criticism at the group, ample evidence suggests the AARP may be focused far less on its publicly declared principles and far more on its profits—even at the…

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Jon Decker and Phil Kerpen: AARP is just a for-profit insurance company

The AARP recently hosted a forum that included Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar ostensibly to discuss proposals to lower health care costs. The irony was unmissable. AARP — which until the 1990s was an acronym but now, appropriately, stands for nothing — is crusading for a Nancy Pelosi bill that allegedly combats “unfair pricing,” while AARP itself faces serious legal allegations that it is ripping off seniors by raising the health care costs…

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Ralph Nader: Wake Up AARP! A Message to Seniors: Medicare “Disadvantage” Is a Corporate Trap

While the Democratic presidential candidates are debating full Medicare for All, giant insurance companies like UnitedHealthcare are advertising to the elderly in an attempt to lure them from Traditional Medicare (TM) to the so-called Medicare Advantage (MA)—a corporate plan that UnitedHealthcare promotes to turn a profit at the expense of enrollees. Almost one third of all elderly over 65 are enrolled in these numerous, complex MA policies the government pays so much for monthly…

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Gerard Gianoli: AARP’s Interests Diverge From Its Members’

Ten thousand American baby boomers will turn 65 each day for the next 10 years. This is one of the biggest demographic transitions in U.S. history, and the resulting shifts in health-care spending will require intelligent policy. But a significant conflict of interest has led AARP, senior citizens’ strongest lobby, to put their well-being aside.

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Tom Greene: Is AARP representing seniors or insurers on drug costs?

From skyrocketing health insurance premiums, massive deductibles, high drug prices and other unexpected out of pocket costs, affordable health care is becoming increasingly out of reach for far too many Iowa patients and families. Add other calamities such as UnitedHealthcare’s recent walkout on hundreds of thousands of Iowa Medicaid recipients and the situation is even more troubling.

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