Staying Fit
November 2, 2009
The Honorable David G. Reichert
U.S. House of Representatives
1730 Longworth HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515-4708
Dear Representative Reichert:
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Thank you for your follow-up letter of October 15, asking for further information about AARP's positions on health care reform and the Medicare Advantage program. We again appreciate the opportunity to address these issues, and we would be happy to meet at your convenience to discuss these matters further.
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization committed to helping people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are affordable and beneficial to them and society as a whole. We carry out this commitment in many different ways- including through our public policy and advocacy work, through our outreach and volunteer programs, in our publications and educational materials, and by providing access to member benefits that offer value and socially responsible features. Like many other nonprofit organizations (such as professional associations and universities), AARP receives a royalty for allowing providers of these member benefits to use the AARP name and intellectual property. This royalty income, along with the income from membership dues and other sources, helps us, in turn, continue to carry on this broad range of activities serving the needs of our members and all people age 50+.
We may, of course, not always agree with policymakers about the best ways to serve the age 50+ population and society, but please be assured that AARP's positions on public policy matters are not developed in order to further AARP's financial interests. As we noted in our earlier correspondence, AARP develops public policy positions through a process that is independent of any royalty-generating activities. This process involves input from AARP members and others, research and analysis by AARP staff of older persons' needs, review by a volunteer National Policy Council, and, ultimately, approval by the all-volunteer AARP Board of Directors. We would be happy to discuss this process with you further at your convenience.
The remainder of this letter addresses the specific follow-up questions raised in your letter of October 15.
Question 1. "You say that 'AARP does not have access to which Medicare-eligible members are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan' ... Please explain, in detail, your advocacy for HR 3200 in light of your lack of information regarding the number of members the bill will affect."
I think there may be some confusion about our response to your initial question. Your original September 21letter asked two different questions about AARP members enrolled in these types of plans.
First, you asked how many AARP members were enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans generally (i.e., all Medicare Advantage plans offered by all insurers). As we noted, we do not have this information. Enrollment in a Medicare Advantage plan is a private transaction between a member and his or her insurer of choice. We know that approximately 11 million people are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans generally, but we do not know how many of these individuals are AARP members.
Second, you asked how many AARP members were enrolled in the United Medicare Advantage plans carrying the AARP name. We noted that this information is proprietary and confidential to United, and United did not give us permission to disclose this information in our letter of October 1. We have spoken with United again, and United has given us permission to disclose both the total number of enrolled in these plans, as well as the number of enrollees who are AARP members. There are approximately one million enrollees in the Medicare Advantage plans carrying the AARP name, and about 37 percent of those enrollees are AARP members. Please note that you do not have to be an AARP member to enroll in these United plans.
With respect to your question about our position on HR 3200, AARP has not, up to this point, endorsed a particular bill. We have, however, actively advocated for reform of our health care system, and for the inclusion of provisions to protect our members and the age 50+ population in any health care reform legislation. Our Board is carefully evaluating the health care reform proposals and weighing them against our public policy priorities, which include whether the legislation will improve Medicare -- such as by closing the coverage gap ("doughnut hole") in part D, improving preventive benefits, and attacking waste fraud and abuse- and whether the legislation will provide affordable health care options to those not yet eligible for Medicare, including strict limits on "age rating."
Question 2. "[According to AARP's most recent financial statements, 'Insurance premiums collected by the Plan [AARP Insurance Plan] are paid directly by participants' •••• As AARP acts as the intermediary for collecting and paying insurance premiums on behalf of its members, how is it possible that AARP does not have access to which of its members are enrolled in Medicare Advantage."
Medicare Advantage premiums are not paid to, or collected by, the AARP Insurance Plan (the "Trust"). Individuals enrolling in the Medicare Advantage plans send their enrollment forms and premium payments directly to United. In addition, for privacy reasons, United does not give us the names of the individual members who enroll in these plans. We only receive periodic reports from United giving us the total number of plan enrollees (which includes both AARP members and non-AARP members, because one does not need to be an AARP member to enroll in these plans). Once a year, United also gives us its estimated percentage of enrollees who are AARP members. As noted above, these numbers are confidential and proprietary to United, and we did not have permission to disclose them in our letter of October 1. As we noted, we have subsequently received permission, and the numbers are disclosed above.
