GOP's and AARP's collusion in Medicare's Demise
According to a Newsday.com November 29, 2003 article, "There's no need to panic yet over the uncertain fate of Medicare or the loss of the prescription drug benefits you have or hoped for. The Medicare drug benefit and the radical changes in the program passed by the Republican congress won't begin taking effect until 2006 - time enough for elections that could reverse the changes." The article goes on to say, "AARP's surprise endorsement of the Republican Medicare bill, following a one-on-one White House meeting between executive director William Novelli and the president, was a turning point for its eventual passage. Republican political strategists were exultant."
It's clear that the turncoat AARP gets most of the credit for the passage of the drug benefits bill. AARP also should take the blame for aiding in the re-election of Bush, who avows that he will devote his next term to remaking Social Security.
The question is why did AARP cave? The current legislation bares little resemblance to the measure AARP told its 35 million members it would fight for. While AARP avowed that the drug benefit had to be "in" Medicare to administer it efficiently and to contain the drug costs -- that is not what this legislation provides.
Also, even though
only the Republicans who wrote the bill had seen its distasteful details, Novelli and AARP endorsed it anyway. In other words, Novelli had no idea what was the exact makeup of the bill when he ordered the production of the AARP's $7-million television ad campaign, which by the way, was ready to roll
prior to his meeting with the president. So while Novelli had no idea what was in the bill's 700 pages of fine print, he joined the Republican campaign to win passage of this bill -- legislation which will eventually bring down Social Security.
Don't believe me? Maybe you'll believe Newt Ginrich, the form Republican Speaker of the House who crows that this bill took the most significant step so far toward ending Medicare. (He had previously predicted that with the Republicans in power, it would take just a few years for Medicare to "wither on the vine.") Of perhaps you should listen to what Sen. Robert Byrd, (D-W. Va) and Sen. Edward F. Kennedy, (D.-Mass.), both of whom voted for the creation of Medicare in 1965, warnings -- "The passage of this bill means the eventual death of Medicare."
This reprehensible legislation is the first step in the GOP's campaign to bring about the eventual demise of Medicare, so why did AARP endorse it and even produce an ad campaigning for it's passage?
I and others feel that AARP betrayed us. Here's an example of the results of that betrayal. Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Calif.), who for years has been trying to turn Medicare over to the insurance companies and who was the chief architect of the bill made a speech to increase support for the bill. In that speech he actually touted AARP's support when he cried: "If we are trying to destroy Medicare, why is the AARP supporting us?"
Why did AARP break so many of its promises to its membership and Medicare recipients at large?
1. AARP avowed that drug benefit had to be "in" Medicare so Medicare could administer it efficiently and could contain the drug costs. But that is not what this legislation provides. This bill requires beneficiaries to buy a drug-only policy, or join an HMO that provides a drug benefit outside of Medicare. Although Medicare will have a role in managing the program, the benefits will be administered by the dozens of private insurers, and - get this - Medicare is prohibited from "interfering" to force lower drug prices.
2. AARP also had promised to oppose "premium support" proposals -- government subsidies for participating insurance companies, ostensibly to cut costs and encourage Medicare to compete for business.
According to the
NEW REPUBLICAN AARP, the real motive for premium support is to encourage beneficiaries to leave Medicare. Of course, AARP's argument is that it caved on the grounds that premium support doesn't begin until 2010.
3. AARP said it was opposed to "means testing benefits." Yet, low- income seniors will have to submit to Medicare's first-ever means test, baring their bank accounts and assets to get subsidized drug coverage.
4. AARP had said it would not support a bill that threatened the loss of retiree drug coverage from former employers. The bill provides as much as $70 billion in tax credits to employers who maintain coverage for retirees once benefits begin in 2006. But if the subsidies do not save employers enough money, nothing in the legislation prohibits an employer from cutting coverage to the level of benefit in the bill. Nor does a tax credit help retirees from state and local governments or nonprofits.
Could greed by the reason?
Some critics suggest AARP, which earned $217 million last year from its insurance business, supported the Medicare bill because it could sell some of the $400 billion in drug insurance that the legislation will pay for over the next 10 years.
