AARP and ObamaCare Prey On Seniors

Democracy and Power 114:  The Power Players

Who actually controls the force of government?   Politicians and interest groups truly control the American political process.  Special interest groups – such as big business,  big unions, education, seniors, and a multitude of others – seek favors, tax breaks, subsidies, exclusive legislation, etc.  Interest groups give enormous money to political campaigns and receive gigantic benefits in return.

AARP and ObamaCare Prey On Seniors

When President Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid signaled that ObamaCare was their top political priority, all special-interest groups impacted by this legislation knew they must be active and complicit participants to protect their economic and political powers.  Immediately, pharmaceuticals, insurance companies, AARP, doctors, nurse unions, medical devise makers, hospitals and others teamed with Obama, Pelosi and Reid to force ObamaCare on every American.  Theoretically and actually, the American people had no part in negotiating the “deal” – ObamaCare. 

Without any doubt, special-interest predators were greatly enriched at the expense of the American people.   One top co-conspirator is the AARP, which claims to represent seniors.  Little do people know, but the AARP makes most of its money – millions – selling health insurance to seniors.  Securing their economic interest,  the AARP actively conspired with the White House to sell Obamacare to the public. 

Kimberley Strassel at the Wall Street Journal has revealed the constant exchanges between the AARP and the White House.  For example in November 2009, a vice president of the AARP worried about their “concerted strategy”  with the White House:

To pull off the legislation, she mused, “we”—the White House and AARP—will need a “concerted strategy.

Additionally, the AARP bamboozled their members by convincing seniors that $716 billion diverted from Medicare was not a cut in benefits.  An email to the White House reveals the AARP’s duplicity. The Washington Examiner reports:

“[I]t was actually a heavy lift for us to convince many at AARP that Medicare ‘savings’ (which they read as cuts) is not bad for beneficiaries,” read one internal email.

In return, the AARP will make millions of dollars by selling medigap insurance to seniors.  Yes, the AARP conspired with the Obama Administration against the financial interest of the seniors. The Washington Examiner reports: 

Thanks to its cuts to Medicare Advantage, Obamacare is expected to expand the number of seniors buying “medigap” supplemental insurance plans. AARP controls 34 percent of the market for such plans. According to a 2011 House Ways and Means Committee report, AARP stands to make between $55 million and $166 million from Obamacare in 2014 alone.

Remember, this was not an isolated corruption.  All the others – pharmaceutical companies, doctors, unions, hospitals, insurers and more made “deals,” too.  All to the detriment of We the People.  Abominable and reprehensible, this is an ongoing, subversive assault on freedom and honest governance.

 Read more on predatory special interests:  Complicit Politicians and Special-Interest Predators.