Skip to content

Local AARP discusses healthcare

AARP has not endorsed any health care reform bill; however, this organization formed to promote the welfare of those 50 years old and older does support health care reform, according to two AARP officials from the Montgomery office.

Bill Hawkins and Anna Pritchett, associate state directors for advocacy outreach, sought to address the myths and misconceptions about health care reform Wednesday at the Randolph County Chapter of AARP meeting at The Galley Restaurant.

Hawkins said AARP is concerned about how the bill would be paid for and who would be eligible – that there are not enough of the nuts and bolts of the legislation available.

“AARP has not endorsed any piece of legislation,” he said, despite the president’s comments that led people think so. The president later clarified his remarks. The final product will likely be a mixture of four or five plans, he said.

“You probably heard about death panels, abortion, illegal aliens and cutting services,” Hawkins said, advising them to trust themselves on the information, that “none of the above is in any legislation.”

People do not need to trust him, but they do need to get credible information and not believe everything they hear, he said.

AARP is going to work to protect the interests of those 50 years old and above, he said. AARP has lost some members due to its stance on reform, but Pritchett said the ratio is 30-to-1 with 30 being renewals and new members and the one being those resigning. Hawkins said those leaving are just more vocal. AARP is working to protect Medicare not only for those on it but future patients, the same as for Social Security. Pritchett said they are working to ensure Social Security will be there for their children and grandchildren.

Pritchett said anyone with any questions or needing help should call them at 1-888-687-2277, the national number. www.AARP.org works to be a credible website for information, she said.

AARP’s founder, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, the first female principal in California, was shocked when she found retired educators living on tiny pensions and no health benefits. It was about 18 years before Congress created Medicare, and retirees could not purchase health insurance anywhere, at any cost, because companies considered older people bad risks.

Pritchett said Andrus told about meeting a retired teacher who was living in “basically, a glorified chicken coop,” on a $40 a month pension. Andrus did not wait for someone else to make a difference, but did so herself, creating a voice for the elderly.

“We helped pass Medicare. We helped pass Part D – over the past year we have talked about ‘Divided We Fail’,” she said. They know what the candidates support before people vote.

“The health care system is a wreck,” she said. In the office they compare the work on this to trying to drink water out of a fire hose. They are looking at what is good for their members. They asked a person in Mobile, “Why on earth do you think AARP would do anything to jeopardize Medicare?” she said.

Hawkins talked about people who are not 65 years old, or widowed, or their husbands lose jobs, or people like him with pre-existing conditions and it is hard to get insurance. The president in a speech said in Alabama 90 percent of the state is covered by Blue-Cross, Blue Shield. Some people are very satisfied with that and nothing in the current legislation and proposals say those people have to change.

But, health care costs have doubled in the past 10 years and they are going to double again, and that tells you something must be done, Hawkins said.

Pritchett said she was looking at insurance when she thought she might be laid off, and the COBRA was more than her mortgage. Her husband has leukemia, and they were scared to death.

AARP is political because it pushes issues that affect their members, but they are bipartisan, she said, working with both sides on issues. AARP is like a big family whose members have different ideas and do not always agree on everything, but at the end of the day they are still AARP, she said.

Malpractice costs are often mentioned, but the Congressional Budget Office said those costs are only 2 percent of health care costs, Pritchett said, but defensive medicine costs could make it more.

Others are already taking care of the uninsured. She has heard people who go to the emergency room say with pride they don’t have to wait there. Personal responsibility is important, like getting flu shots or taking your insulin if you are diabetic.

She predicted the Alabama legislative session beginning in January is going to be crazy, and they will have to fight to keep funding for programs like Meals on Wheels or the Senior Citizens Center from being cut as budgets are passed.

While AARP has not endorsed any plan, there are elements they support, like making Medicare stronger, making drugs more available, and advocating more nursing educators because there is a shortage. More money is needed for room for students, but there are not enough teachers.

Nurse practitioners can do a great job, but Alabama law prohibits them from practicing to their full potential, Hawkins said. Pritchett said people often have to travel out of town to see a doctor.

Hawkins said: “Let’s fix what’s wrong and keep what’s right.”

Bill Hawkins (left) and Anna Pritchett (right) from the AARP headquarters in Montgomery spoke Sept. 16 to the Randolph Chapter of AARP. Shown with them is chapter president Peggy Thrasher./Penny L. Pool

Leave a Comment