AARP sells out members by endorsing Bush Medicare Drug Benefit Plan!

[flpoljunkie]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52139-2003Nov17.html

AARP Endorses Medicare Drug Benefit Plan

The Associated Press
Monday, November 17, 2003; 1:21 PM

WASHINGTON - "AARP threw the weight of its 35 million members behind a planned Medicare prescription drug benefit on Monday, handing Republicans a pivotal endorsement as they fight Democratic critics.

"We're going to work to get it passed," said AARP chief executive William Novelli in an interview with The Associated Press.

Novelli said the AARP will "pull out all the stops" to get the bill passed, including a three-day television campaign this week.

Novelli said the bill is not perfect, "but the country can't afford to wait for perfect. On balance, it's the right thing for seniors in America and their families."

<snip>The legislation would create a prescription drug benefit for 40 million elderly and disabled Medicare beneficiaries beginning in 2006. The bill would establish a new role for private health plans in Medicare, encouraging them to offer seniors the choice of receiving coverage under managed care plans such as preferred provider organizations."

IN FACT, the GOP Medicare drug benefit plan is an egregious giveaway to the drug companies and managed care providers, which does NOTHING to hold down the cost of drugs. As a matter of FACT, it expressing prohibits the federal government from doing anything to control the cost of drugs. The Democrats must filibuster this bad bill, as no bill is better than this giveaway to the Bush cronies in the pharmaceutical and HMO industries.

[redqueen]

1. Typical.

WTH do they care about the cost?

:mad:

[PROGRESSIVE1]

2. You know what...

my parents may just end their membership to the AARP now.

[Cleita]

5. I'm thinking of ending ours except we rely on AARP

for insurance that we can afford. I will have to shop around for other sources.

[Cleita]

3. Does anybody know Novelli's party affiliation?

I wonder where following the money leads. He sure has sold us seniors out.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

6. Gave $500 to McCain!

...in 1999. Back then he was in charge of "Tobacco Free Kids", which is where he stated he worked in his campaign contribution form.

Link to his Biography
Note that he was
http://www.aarp.org/leadership-ceo/Articles/a2002-12-27-novelli.html

Link:
http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.asp?NumOfThou=0&txtName=Novelli%2C+William&txtState=%28all+states%29&txtZip=&txtEmploy=&txtCand=&txt2004=Y&txt2002=Y&txt2000=Y&Order=N

or go to www.opensecrets.org
and type in his name.

[Cleita]

8. Thanks.

I knew there had to be a neo-con connection somewhere. This is not what AARP stands for or stood for. They have infiltrated everywhere these fascist pigs!

[Cleita]

4. Medical discount cards are already used and are nothing new.

HMO's provide drug benefits, if you can get them to approve them. This whole thing makes me sick. This bill has nothing new in it and it's a propaganda opportunity for Bush to say he did something. The only thing that will be done is that our health care dollars for seniors will be funneled into private for profit health care corporations, who trust me, provide very little health care for seniors.

[David__77]

7. I have mixed feelings.

We are getting a new entitlement here, regardless of the flaws. If we can minimize the threats to Medicare in the bill, then it is positive. I think that it is significant that even this will pass the hard right leadership of the house. "Genuine conservatives" are not pleased with this expansion of social services.

[madfloridian]

11. This plan changes Medicare completely.

They did NOT have to do that to give drug benefits. Democrats have been left out of the loop. It is going to make everything cost more.

[adriennel]

12. exactly!

they want to rush through this prescription plan as a positive and any questioning of how the plan fundamentally changes Medicare will be called "partisan" or "against seniors" or some such nonsense.

In Canada the government negotiates prices with drug companies and as a result cost of prescriptions are half of what they are in the U.S. Seems like a reasonable plan to me, except here in the U.S. we don't like restrict corporate profits.

[shirlden]

9. I have already sent

a nasty e-mail to AARP (member for 15 years). I have demanded that they reconsider this endorsement and put it to the membership for a vote. I cannot believe that the membership would be in favor of this idiot bill. There is so much wrong with it that it cannot be fixed. It must be junked.

Please, Duers........get on the AARP NOW and call all your friends


:argh:

[Cleita]

10. This was my letter.

"I am appalled that you have joined the Republican Congressional scam to privatize Medicare in order to provide a prescription drug benefit to seniors. This is empty legislation as those plans already provide prescription drug benefits on paper.

In reality, in my area less that 5% of the doctors accept these plans. Since this area is more than 50% retirees, you can imagine what trying to procure health care from these few providers is like.

AARP should be fighting to keep Medicare in the traditional mode as a single payer entity and out of the hands of the for-profit health care industry. These corporations only provide healthy profits to their stockholders and little if any health care to the sick and elderly. Not only that they don’t cover my husband for his end state renal disease. As he also has emphysema he has had to do without the expensive medication to control it. Instead he has to gasp for breath with every little exertion. This plan will have zero benefit for him.

If you continue with this pandering to corporate interests my husband and I will have to rethink our membership. I will also advise my friends about what you are doing."

[madfloridian]

13. 1-800-424-3410

n/t