Tag Archives: AARP

New Health Care Law

The Insurance Company President Obama Never Mentions

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  • It denies access to individuals with pre-existing conditions by imposing waiting periods.
  • Its plans are not subject to the same restrictions applied to all other forms of insurance under ObamaCare.
  • A backroom deal cut in Sen. Harry Reid’s office exempts its plans from the new tax on health insurers.

It’s called the “AARP Insurance Plan,” a wholly owned subsidiary of AARP. It sells Medigap insurance, which will greatly expand when ObamaCare cuts subsidies for Medicare Advantage plans. AARP, over the strong objection of most seniors, supported ObamaCare.

The information above came from Chris Jacobs, a health policy analyst with the Republican Policy Committee.

New Health Care Law

What Special Interests are Getting for Selling Out on Health Reform

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The American Medical Association (AMA): A promise to repeal a scheduled 21 percent cut in physician’s Medicare reimbursements under the current law.

AARP: As many as 8.5 million seniors will lose their Medicare Advantage coverage and be forced to buy Medigap insurance instead. AARP (which has morphed into an insurance company) is one of the main sellers of Medigap.

The drug industry: A 10-year limit of $80 billion in cuts in prescription drug costs and administration assurances that it will continue to bar lower-cost Canadian drugs from coming into the U.S.

Insurance companies: Access to 40 million potential new customers.

Full article in The Hill’s Pundits Blog.

Seniors

Why AARP is Selling Out Seniors

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This is Dan Eggen, writing in The Washington Post:

The group and its subsidiaries collected more than $650 million in royalties and other fees last year from the sale of insurance policies, credit cards and other products that carry the AARP name, accounting for the majority of its $1.14 billion in revenue, according to federal tax records. It does not directly sell insurance policies but lends its name to plans in exchange for a tax-exempt cut of the premiums.

Democratic proposals to slash reimbursements for another program, called Medicare Advantage, are widely expected to drive up demand for private Medigap policies like the ones offered by AARP, according to health-care experts, legislative aides and documents.

Policy Updates

Health Reform Policy Update

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BlueCross-funded Oliver Wyman report: Baucus bill would increase premiums in the individual market by 50%.

AARP sells out seniors: Can’t understand why its members are unhappy.

Harry Reid video: $54 billion a year saving from malpractice reform is peanuts in the face of a $2 trillion health reform price tag.

Hoekstra and Shadegg: Special interests shaped the Baucus bill: The federal government picks up Medicaid costs in four states, New Yorkers are exempt from the tax on “Cadillac” plans and $10 billion will bail out union health plans.

Seniors

Why is AARP Selling Out Seniors?

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This is Philip Klein, writing in The American Spectator:

If the House Democrats health care bill becomes law, the report argues, it would be a boon to AARP, because while Medicare Advantage plans will be required to pay out 85 percent of the money collected in premiums to claims made by policy holders, the requirement would only be 65 percent for the kind of Medigap policies sold by AARP.

“In other words, under the Democrat bill, seniors could pay as much as 20 cents more out of every premium dollar to fund ‘kickbacks’ to AARP-sponsored Medigap plans than Medicare Advantage plans,” the GOP report charges.

Interesting Links

Hits & Misses – 2009/9/30

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British and French proposals would require disclaimers on ads where beauty is enhanced by photo retouching. But what about cosmetic surgery enhancement? And why stop with ads? What about ID tags at cocktail parties?

Healthy habits don’t mean lower medical bills. Vermonters are the nation’s healthiest people, but they have the ninth highest level of spending.

Private clinics and surgical centers are springing up in British Columbia. Technically, they’re illegal.

Health Insurance

Special Interests Back Unhealthy Behavior

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The obese, the smokers, the couch potatoes and all manner of other unhealthy behavior types have a friend in AARP and 60 other groups who oppose efforts to give a break on health insurance premiums to workers who watch their weight, exercise and manage their cholesterol. The special interests worry that workers unable to modify unhealthy behaviors might find premiums unaffordable. The Senate HELP bills would allow discounts of up to 30% and a House proposal would allow a 50% discount for those who engage in wellness programs.