"AARP Says It Will Become Major Medicare Insurer While Remaining a Consumer Lobby"
That's the headline in today's New York Times story by Robert Pear. The pull quote is more interesting: "Potential for conflicts is seen as a lobbyist plans to expand its insurance role."
Conflicts? Non-issue says AARP. According to the Times story, "AARP officials insisted that its financial interests do not affect the positions it takes on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and dozens of other issues on which it lobbies and litigates."
Try this exercise -- take the above paragraph and replace "AARP" with "the insurance industry" and read it out loud.
So, let's pick two items: non-interference and drug importation. AARP supports the revokation of the non-interference clause and supports drug importation. Hmm. Major insurance provider supports price controls both legislated and imported. Conflict?
You be the judge.
On the up side, "the new plans will coordinate care for people with chronic conditions and will develop special programs to treat people with depression."
Big Pharma could learn a lot about spin control from spinmeitster/AARP CEO Bill Novelli.
That's the headline in today's New York Times story by Robert Pear. The pull quote is more interesting: "Potential for conflicts is seen as a lobbyist plans to expand its insurance role."
Conflicts? Non-issue says AARP. According to the Times story, "AARP officials insisted that its financial interests do not affect the positions it takes on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and dozens of other issues on which it lobbies and litigates."
Try this exercise -- take the above paragraph and replace "AARP" with "the insurance industry" and read it out loud.
So, let's pick two items: non-interference and drug importation. AARP supports the revokation of the non-interference clause and supports drug importation. Hmm. Major insurance provider supports price controls both legislated and imported. Conflict?
You be the judge.
On the up side, "the new plans will coordinate care for people with chronic conditions and will develop special programs to treat people with depression."
Big Pharma could learn a lot about spin control from spinmeitster/AARP CEO Bill Novelli.
