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Health Scare: Why Seniors Have Reason To Be Afraid

August 13, 2009 by

Is AARP The Best Representative For Seniors?

The health care debate is certainly heated, a lot hotter than what most people would have expected back in June when Congress first began to seriously consider changing the way Americans take care of themselves.

Opposition to what many are calling “ObamaCare” is strong, but it isn’t just coming from conservatives and anti-big government proponents. Instead, America’s senior citizens are up in arms, leading the charge to defeat ObamaCare. Strong opposition has taken House and Senate Democrats, AARP and other interest groups by surprise, but they still don’t “get it” when it comes to understanding our seniors.

5 Reasons Why Seniors Hate ObamaCare

Some people just dont get it when it comes to Americas senior population and why so many are opposed to ObamaCare. Ive compiled a list of five reasons to help them nail it.

Some people just don't "get it" when it comes to America's senior population and why so many are opposed to ObamaCare. I've compiled a list of five reasons to help them nail it.

Though I am years away from retirement (if ever) I am a new member of AARP, having turned 50 just last year. As an AARP member I can tell you that this lobbying association has a lot to learn, but are they willing to listen? Frankly, I don’t think that they are – just in case I’m wrong, allow me to share some of my observations when it comes five important reasons why seniors are pushing back hard against Congress and the Obama administration:

Seniors Don’t Want Medicare Decimated – Medicare is national health insurance for seniors, a “safety net” of sorts put in place more than four decades ago to protect aging Americans. Lots of Americans are not happy with the system, but understand that dismantling it may very well do more harm than good. When seniors learn that hundreds of billions of dollars will be diverted from Medicare to pay for ObamaCare, they’re rightfully concerned.

Seniors Want Choice – We live in a nation where “choice” is a popular buzz word. Unfortunately, changes to Medicare just may limit senior’s choice of doctors, choice of care and choice to live. Terms like “end of life counseling” are not clearly defined and when the president himself suggests that care must be rationed, then many seniors know that their lives will be placed in the hands of bureaucrats who may be more inclined to end them instead of preserving life.

Seniors Hate To Be Patronized – Why is it when Americans reach “a certain age” that politicians think that they can talk down to the senior set? Seniors are some of the most politically engaged people in the country, Americans who take the time to study proposals, read the fine print, ask probing questions. How unhelpful is it when politicians refute what seniors have already read and studied? Never underestimate the power of seniors and, as in the case of AARP, if you claim to represent seniors you need to understand exactly what seniors want apart from your own profitable interests.

Seniors Worry About Costs – Health care costs continue to increase with no end in site. While a government system promises to contain costs, most seniors know that their out of pocket expenses will increase, especially for those seniors who own a home, have a retirement account or some other assets which puts them squarely in the middle of the middle class. Few people believe that the middle class will avoid the next round of tax increases.

Seniors Worry About Their Legacy – And by “legacy” I mean their children and grandchildren. Seniors aren’t stupid – they’ve lived many years and have witnessed many profound changes during that time. Younger seniors came of age during the 1960s while our oldest seniors defended America during World War II. They’ve seen good times, they’ve seen bad times but no one has seen the government spend so recklessly as has been done in 2009. Someone has to pay for GM and Chrysler being bailed out, banks and other financial institutions bolstered, for so-called stimulus packages to be repaid, cap and trade taxes and, now, a multi-trillion dollar tax boondoggle in the form of ObamaCare. Seniors have had “enough” and aren’t interested in burdening subsequent generations with unpayable debt that threatens American sovereignty.

Slow Down The Process

Many Americans know that if ObamaCare becomes law there is virtually no chance that it will ever be dismantled. The rush to pass untested legislation has gotten many people upset who want everything slowed down, properly discussed and weighed before Congress puts anything to vote.

Further Reading:

Is AARP Beholden To ObamaCare?

A Slow Bleed For Insurance Companies?

Read The Bill: Ya Think?!

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: , , , , ,

Is AARP Beholden To ObamaCare?

August 7, 2009 by

Last year, at about the same time I hit my 50th birthday, I decided to join AARP, the organization that was once known as the American Association of Retired Persons. Sometime ago AARP decided to forgo its four word appellation, choosing to use the same sort of alphabet soup designation favored by federal bureaucracies as well as by many companies including AT&T, IBM and BB&T.  I’m not retired, probably many years from being in that position (if ever), but I wanted to have the benefits of AARP, including an excellent deal on their award winning magazine.

AARP’s Liberal Bent

Now I certainly know that AARP has a liberal bent, one that embraces an expanded federal government including endorsing ObamaCare. That doesn’t bother me because I’m used to working with people whose political views are all over the spectrum, but I’ve wondered if I’m part of a distinctly small minority of AARP conservatives who are older and prefer not to have the government run our lives.

Well, the past few weeks has revealed to me that many AARP members are NOT happy with ObamaCare and are particularly unhappy with the organization’s stance on that issue. Yesterday, I viewed a pair of YouTube videos about AARP including one where seniors were objecting to AARP volunteers’ positions about healthcare. That video was heavily edited, so it is difficult to determine just how much anger was flowing from the audience to the speakers, who soon shut the meeting down and left. That didn’t stop the two dozen or so remaining attendees from having their own meeting, which included a call for people to take back their government.

Royalty Fees For AARP

Aside from healthcare, AARP employs another controversial practice which many members may not know about. That practice involves receiving royalty fees for each time they recommend members to a product offered through their site or by way of one of their mailings. The video I have included here outlines this practice, revealing that AARP members may actually pay more for their auto insurance if they go through them instead of dealing directly with the insurance company.

For the record, I don’t have a problem with AARP, AAA and other organizations making some money off of a referral, but I believe that it is essential that this information be disclosed. I think I pay just $8 annually for my membership, which is next to nothing, but I don’t think it is right for AARP to make money on older Americans without their knowledge. From watching the video you will see that the plan pushed by AARP is costly and doesn’t deliver the promised savings – certainly, AARP could work with someone else who delivers maximum value while giving the organization some revenue.

Not Ready To Leave AARP

I’m not about to leave AARP despite my disagreement with them on some issues. However, I will continue to monitor the direction they take on any number of issues and I plan to express my viewpoint on healthcare to them.

I know that some of the seniors featured in the other video were planning to cancel their AARP membership, a move that believers of a smaller, central government may need to do. Millions of Americans are fed up at the “system” and are particularly angry if the organization that purports to represent them has financial motives for backing agendas contrary to what people want.

See Also — A Slow Bleed For Insurance Companies?

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: , , , , ,