AARP and the AMA Endorse the Health Care Reform Bill Passed in the House of Representatives!

Health Care Reform. Where do we begin with this topic? There is so much information and misinformation floating around on the web that at times it feels impossible to form an educated opinion.

A couple of major developments in the last week have pushed forward reform after decades of efforts. The AARP and American Medical Association gave their endorsements to President Obama’s reform bill, which passed in the House of Representatives on Saturday.

There has been a lot of talk that seniors don’t support health care reform because it threatens to cut Medicare. In fact you may have seen commercials on television claiming just that. With its endorsement the AARP is saying, we don’t buy it! The reform bill limits one program called Medicare Advantage. More importantly, the reform bill wants to maximize Medicaid, which seniors can also qualify for. AARP is recognizing these efforts as beneficial to the senior community.

In a speech he gave on November 5, President Obama urges us not to be swayed by misleading information put out by lobbyists. Obama notes that after careful research and consideration by the AARP and AMA “they’re endorsing this bill because they know it will strengthen Medicare, not jeopardize it. They know it will protect the benefits our seniors receive, not cut them. So I want everybody to remember that the next time you hear the same tired arguments to the contrary…and remember this endorsement the next time you see a bunch of misleading ads on television.” You can read a New York Time’s transcript of the President’s speech on the AARP and AMA’s endorsements here. Don’t worry, it’s a short read, and worth it.

While the reform bill passed in the House of Representatives over the weekend, the bill has a long way to go to get through the Senate and finally on to the President’s desk. By the end, if it makes it, the bill will look drastically different as Republicans and Democrats duke it out for concessions and rewrites. This is a good thing. Even those representatives that voted to pass the bill are not fully satisfied with it currently. Tennessee Democrat, Jim Cooper, said “this bill will get better in the Senate. If we kill it here, it won’t have a chance to get better.” Hopefully what will emerge is a solid plan for health care coverage for all of us who need it.