Doctors, AARP Support New Health Overhaul Bill

CHICAGO — The nation's largest association of doctors and the AARP senior citizens' lobby are endorsing President Barack Obama's revised health overhaul legislation.

James Rohack, president of the American Medical Association, said Friday that the pending bill isn't perfect, but it's the next step toward real reform of the nation's health care system.

"This is certainly not the bill we would have written, but we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good," Rohack said.

The board of the Chicago-based group reached a consensus and voted unanimously Thursday night after a review of the House reconciliation bill.

The AMA has supported earlier versions of the bill. One of its top priorities is permanently ending scheduled cuts in doctors' Medicare reimbursements. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday she would try pushing such a bill through Congress soon.

"We will hold Congress' feet to the fire on getting that done before this Congress adjourns," Rohack said Friday in a telephone conference with reporters.

The bill "goes a long way" toward assuring access to primary care for patients on Medicaid, the federal-state health program for the poor and disabled, Rohack said. The legislation gives primary care doctors a pay raise for Medicaid patients, increasing payments to the level of Medicare, as it expands Medicaid coverage to more patients in 2013 and 2014.

The bill would provide federal funding to states to cover that increase in Medicaid costs.

AARP has steadily supported health overhaul efforts. The organization's CEO A. Barry Rand sent a letter Friday to members of the House of Representatives, urging them to vote yes.

In a statement Friday, AARP said the legislation "will improve health care for older Americans and their families." The bill gradually closes the "doughnut hole" coverage gap in the Medicare prescription drug benefit and limits insurance companies' ability to charge higher premiums based solely on age, AARP said.

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Associated Press Writer Alan Fram contributed to this report from Washington.

Comments

[spytheweb]

08:31 AM on 03/26/2010

The question should be does AARP support single payer medicare for all health care?

"American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). AARP, one of DC's most powerful lobbying groups, has worked inside the beltway for years to defeat single payer. Why? AARP makes about a quarter of its money selling insurance through its affiliate, United Healthcare Group, the nation's largest for-profit insurance company. AARP must defeat single payer - which if enacted, would wipe out that revenue stream".

[Conk]

10:28 AM on 03/24/2010

Enough already! This legislation has NOTHING to do with health. It's all about how the money moves around and who pays, and who gets rich. The only thing that will change, healthwise, is that the entrenched Medical Mafia will have yet more power and Mother Nature will go to jail.

[mamacat]

04:59 AM on 03/24/2010

AARP and the AMA have been backers of this health care reform for a long time, not just recently.

[rxvette]

08:57 PM on 03/22/2010

applaud President Obama for his effort to get healthcare reform passed. This legislation has many much needed fixes for our current system. However, being the independent voter and healthcare professional I am I do believe that we still fall far short of addressing the core of this nation's healthcare crisis. And this would be - an unhealthy America.

Michelle Obama is the one fighting the bigger more important fight with her campaign to reduce obesity in children. This needs to be expanded to everyone in America. Because if you still have 2/3 of Americans who are overweight and sick you still have a healthcare crisis regardless of the legislative fixes you put in place. To learn more and to find specific resources we can all use to make an even bigger impact on our nation's healthcare system please read my article on healthcare reform below. It turns out that we all individually have much more control over what happens about this issue than we think.

A healthcare professional's view on health care reform - http://bit.ly/9QLV8

[smilodon1]

06:31 PM on 03/22/2010

AARP support is no recommendation. The "organization" is just a front group for United Health Care -- one of the biggest offenders in the health insurance scam.

[bthechangeyouseek]

08:40 AM on 03/23/2010

AARP has been around since 1960. Some plans are underwritten by UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, and other smaller insurers. They allow the brand to be associated with specific types of medicare plans.

[mamacat]

05:01 AM on 03/24/2010

If AARP pushes anything, it is pushing for lower rates for seniors. That is something they should be commended for, not criticised.

[spytheweb]

08:29 AM on 03/26/2010

AARP gets about 25% of their money from United health group. The health insurance company that rips people off.