Why AARP supports reform

As Congress moves toward a historic decision on health reform, AARP has chosen sides: We are standing up for better health care for all Americans.

AARP has endorsed a comprehensive health-reform bill, the Affordable Health Choices for America Act (H.R. 3962).

First, and most important, this legislation restrains out-of-control costs in Medicare without putting traditional Medicare benefits at risk. In fact, this legislation extends Medicare's long-term solvency through 2022, five years longer than is currently the case. And it doesn't add one dollar to the federal deficit.

It also attacks Medicare waste, fraud and abuse - cracking down on insurer overpayments, providing tougher penalties for Medicare fraud and pouring $100 million into the fight against rip-offs of Medicare and Medicaid. Florida has one of the worst track records when it comes to costly fraud and abuse.

Those are some of the reasons why AARP has joined other leading voices - including the American Medical Association, the American Heart Association's "You're the Cure" network and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network - in backing the House legislation.

The House health-reform also includes other important benefits vital to Floridians age 50-64:

• An end to insurer discrimination based on age or gender. Currently, insurance companies can charge older Floridians as much as 10 times more than younger people for the same coverage. This legislation would limit the "age rating ratio" to 2-1. The House bill also bans charging women extra for health coverage.

• Making health coverage affordable. At age 63, my wife, Mary, and I pay $19,000 in premiums and deductibles per year for health coverage for us and our college-age daughter. It's the most expensive item in our budget. Millions of other Floridians age 50-64 also face high costs.

I've heard some elected officials say that if older Floridians just give up a few frills, such as satellite television, we could easily afford health coverage. It just shows how out of touch politicians can be. Every member of Congress gets great, government-run health coverage at affordable rates. Out here in the real world, $19,000 is a lot more than DishTV charges, even for premium sports channels! Under the House bill, you'd be able to join with other older people to buy affordable, quality health coverage.

• No more denials of coverage due to "pre-existing conditions." My friend Terri Koopman, 67, of Lake Placid, is a volunteer nurse at Samaritan's Touch Care Center, a free health clinic in Highlands County. Every week, she sees patients who either can't afford coverage or who have been denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions.

Some are diabetic patients whose blood-sugar levels are four to five times higher than normal. Others have such high blood pressure that they are at imminent risk of stroke. Because these patients can't afford health coverage, they're not getting the preventive care they need - and we all pay if they end up in hospitals.

Under this legislation, Terri's patients would get help.

• Help for family caregivers. Dorothy Small, 73, of Lakeland, can tell you what it is like to be a caregiver for not one but two loved ones. It is very stressful - and getting help in the home can be expensive.

Under this legislation, a new long-term care insurance program will provide at least $50 per day to help with costs of care services in your home or community.

While AARP is pleased that the House bill includes many of the proposals that are most important to older Floridians, we know the fight isn't over.

We'll keep working with members of the House and Senate to ensure our priorities are included in any final health care reform bill. But AARP will fight with the strength of our nearly 40 million members against any reform plan that would hurt older Americans' access to affordable, quality health care.

To learn more about health reform, please go to www.aarp.org/getthefacts or call 1-866-227-7449 to voice your point of view.