AARP

Congressional Republicans took on the 40-million member AARP after it endorsed health care reform legislation a couple of weeks ago, and Rep. Dave Reichert of Washington has been among the most vocal critics of the senior-advocacy organization. Reichert says the AARP has a “conflict of interest” because its affiliations with insurance companies could drive business to those groups. And AARP makes money off those relationships.

President Obama made much of AARP’s endorsement of the health care reform bill earlier this month, saying it should rebut criticism that the proposals would hurt seniors. The bill passed the House by a narrow margin a few days later.

Now, reports McClatchy correspondent Les Blumenthal in the Tacoma News Tribune, the Bellevue Republican has asked the Washington state insurance commissioner if AARP should be regulated because of the supplemental Medicare insurance it helps market to members. AARP earned $650 million last year by endorsing insurance policies, credit cards and other products.

Reichert, Blumenthal writes, has “emerged as the leader of a group of House Republicans that has AARP in its sights.”  The organization, which has 940,000 members in Washington state, says it shouldn’t face regulation because it’s nonpartisan, doesn’t endorse and doesn’t give candidates money.

It could be a risky play for Reichert, long mentioned as a possible challenger to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, the powerful Democratic incumbent.

Big business is fighting back hard as the House health care  bill  heads for a vote this weekend. An initial ad buy estimated to cost about $10 million is underway in 19 states and 46 media markets, aimed at blocking passage of the House health care reform bill.

The business coalition, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, includes such big groups as the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors and the National Retail Federation, reports the National Journal, a publication that examines the lobbying industry.

In response perhaps, the AARP and the American Medical Association came out today in support of the House bill. Earlier in the week, the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network also endorsed the bill.

AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond said that the group saw the House Democratic bill as the most promising proposal. "We can say with confidence that it meets our priorities for protecting Medicare, providing more affordable insurance for 50- to 64-year-olds and reforming our healthcare system." 

-- Rita Hibbard

Seniors are emerging as a battleground in the health care reform war, Michael Booth and Karen E. Crummy of the Denver Post report, and politicians are finding out just where the minefields are.

"Democratic reform backers who want seniors on board meet resistance from many who like Medicare as it is, and others who reject higher taxes to expand care for the young. A whopping 94 percent of senior Medicare enrollees said they were satisfied with their coverage in a July poll conducted by Suffolk University in Boston.

Meanwhile, the senior lobby AARP has lost tens of thousands of members over health care reform. These are members angry at a perceived endorsement of President Barack Obama's health care proposals, as it faces daily assaults on its claim to speak for seniors. Republicans are jumping in to take advantage of the seniors' fears that Medicare cuts will pay for the reforms, issuing a "bill of rights" to protect against benefit trims or alleged rationing. You know, like death panels.

-- Rita Hibbard