Divided We Fail Campaign Targets Health Care, Financial Security
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2007-07-12 15:48:43.910243-04:00
The nation is reaching a tipping point. Health care costs are skyrocketing, savings rates are plummeting, and people are wondering if they'll ever be able to retire. On average, just one in three Americans believes that the next generation will have a better quality of life than we have today.
We can't let this happen. To help turn things around, AARP has launched Divided We Fail, a major, long-term public outreach campaign designed to raise the voices of millions of Americans who believe that health and lifetime financial security are the most pressing domestic issues facing our nation. AARP intends to mobilize our members and the public to demand that our elected officials work to find bipartisan solutions to these problems.
At AARP, we believe affordable, quality health care is a fundamental right for all Americans. But too many of us are just one major illness or injury away from financial ruin due to the skyrocketing costs of the current system.
Unfortunately, the retirement security system isn't much better. Financial security is the cornerstone of the American dream. It used to be that if you worked hard and played by the rules, you would be able to retire with few financial worries. Yet this dream is being threatened by the demise of traditional pension plans, an economic environment where people find it difficult to save, and the looming issue of strengthening Social Security for future generations.
Take the case of Valerie Gilstrap of Indianola, WA. A registered nurse, Gilstrap sees first hand the detrimental effects of delaying treatment because of the high costs of health care.
"When patients without insurance are forced to wait until they are at death's door before seeking help, it costs society," says Gilstrap, "and maybe even their own life."
Since starting to work part time, Gilstrap herself is ineligible for benefits and lacks health care coverage.
"Now I have to choose too. How long do I ignore my own symptoms before I seek care?" she says.
Gilstrap indicated that one of her prescriptions costs over $400 for a three-month supply, so she had to give it up.
"It's the only thing that works for me but now I have to do without," Gilstrap said.
AARP is collecting thousands of stories like Gilstrap's at local community events, through our publications and on our Divided We Fail Web site. We will use your voices and those of your friends, family and neighbors to pressure candidates and elected officials to tell us how they plan to end political gridlock and develop bi-partisan solutions to assure our health and financial security.
In addition to sharing your story, AARP is asking you to take the Divided We Fail pledge. By signing the pledge, you can stay up-to-date on where the candidates stand on the issues, connect with people online and in your community, get an inside track on the elections, and much more.
Already, all across the country, tens of thousands of Americans have joined Divided We Fail. Together, we are leading by example and won't stop until real solutions are in place.
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