AARP President Tells Senate 50- to 64-year-olds Need Choices
Broken system leaves 7 million older Americans without insurance
WASHINGTON
—AARP President Jennie Chin Hansen last week presented
before the Senate Finance Committee’s roundtable on expanding
health care coverage. Hansen pressed the committee on the need to
address the more than 7 million uninsured Americans aged 50 to
64. Excerpts from her prepared statement follow:
“Comprehensive reform to
provide affordable coverage to all Americans could not be more urgent,
as coverage losses are snowballing in our current
economy…. One recent report estimated that 4 million
Americans have lost coverage since the recession began, and as many as
14,000 may be losing coverage every day. This is on top of
46 million who lacked coverage in 2007….”
“Health reform must make
affordable coverage choices available to all Americans, especially
those aged 50-64 who are not yet eligible for
Medicare…. People in this age range who lose job-based
coverage often find it impossible to get affordable individual
coverage because insurers consider age and pre-existing conditions
when setting rates and most Americans in this age range have one if
not several such conditions. Industry data show that insurers
reject between 17% and 28% of applicants aged 50-64. Those
who can find individual coverage tend to receive less generous
benefits than those with employer coverage, yet on average pay
premiums that are three times higher and total out-of-pocket spending
that is over twice that of those with employer coverage.”
“The best way to help
50-64-year-olds is to make coverage affordable for everyone by:
- Guaranteeing that all individuals and groups wishing to purchase or renew coverage can do so regardless of age or pre-existing conditions;
- Prohibit charging higher premiums because of health status or claims experience;
- Providing a choice of qualified plans through an Exchange or Connector;
- Providing subsidies based on income so coverage is affordable for everyone;
- Addressing costs system-wide through prevention and wellness, care coordination, fighting fraud, waste, and abuse, and revising incentives to reward quality rather than quantity of care; and
- Ensuring that any cost-sharing obligations do not create barriers to needed care.”
“…We cannot fix
our broken economy if we do not fix our broken health care system, and
we will all need to work together in order to succeed. We again
commend this Committee’s leadership and look forward to working
with both sides of the aisle to make enactment of meaningful,
comprehensive health reform a reality this year.”
AARP’s report,
“Health Care Reform: What’s at Stake for 50- to
64-Year-Olds?” can be found at http://www.aarp.org/research/health/carefinancing/i24_hcr.html.
For details on AARP’s
health reform campaign, visit HealthActionNows.org.
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps
people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are
beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. AARP
does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions
to either political campaigns or candidates. We produce AARP
The Magazine, the definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the world's
largest-circulation magazine with over 34.5 million readers; AARP
Bulletin, the go-to news source for AARP's 40 million members and
Americans 50+; AARP Segunda Juventud, the only bilingual U.S.
publication dedicated exclusively to the 50+ Hispanic community; and
our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity
that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons
in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and
sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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Added: May 11, 2009
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