South Dakotans Call for Reform

AARP member Carol Bishop from Rapid City joined AARP South Dakota State President Pat Gross in Washington, D.C.  The two volunteers meet with our Congressional delegation and shared AARP's priority issues for health reform, including closing the Medicare "doughnut hole" and ensuring affordable coverage is available to those 50-64.
 
“I’m honored that AARP selected me to be an activist to represent Health Action Now,” said AARP volunteer, Carol Bishop.  “After talking with my friends, neighbors and family, I realized that health reform is a national issue that affects all ages, particularly seniors.  We cannot continue with the system we have now.”

During meetings with Senators Johnson and Thune and Rep. Herseth Sandlin's staff, Bishop discuss her and her family’s health care challenges and how health care reform could potential have a tremendously positive affect on her life.  
 
“My mother who is 78 has arthritis, and takes brand name drugs for her heart and her arthritis.  Her drug plan won’t cover the costs of these drugs,” said Bishop.

Bishop added, her mother is on Medicare, but between the co-pays and the supplemental premiums, she simply can’t afford to follow doctor’s orders.  Bishop also described her own health care challenges as well as those of friends and neighbors. She reiterated that even those who have some health coverage still can't afford the cost of the treatment and that the cost of doing nothing at this point would leave her and her mother and her friends and family continuing to search for ways to scrape together their treatment needs.

“I want to convince my representatives that we can’t afford to wait another year, or not pass health reform now.  We need it now.”

AARP South Dakota state president Pat Gross also stressed the urgency for reform. 

“We have to impress upon our nation's leaders that the cost of doing nothing is too great a cost for our country and its citizens to bear.”   

AARP volunteers from all 50 states attended the Health Action Now Lobby Day and shared concerns on health reform with members of Congress on both sides of aisle and in both chambers seeking a bipartisan solution to our nation's health care challenges.