It’s rich to read about concern about drug prices from the AARP in the Dec. 7 article in The Globe. AARP was an acronym until the 1990s but now, appropriately, stands for nothing as it has become little more than a marketing scam for its big corporate financial sponsors — UnitedHealth and its OptumRx pharmacy business.
The organization is in legal hot water all over the country because it takes what lawsuits are calling “illegal kickbacks” from UnitedHealth on “AARP-sponsored” Medicare plans including Medigap and Medicare Advantage.
Rather than helping seniors select the plan that is most tailored to their needs or financial resources, AARP sells UnitedHealth plans exclusively in return for a 4.95% cut, which added up to $627 million in 2017 alone.
Their support of Nancy Pelosi’s prescription drug plan would also result in higher profits for insurance companies, which is why UnitedHealth has its marketing arm — the AARP — out banging the drum for the extreme plan.
The AARP has strayed far from its now-abandoned mission to help older Americans. Given what its actual core business has become, AARP should be the last group to tell others how to lower health care costs.
ADVERTISEMENT
