State AARP busy over federal Medicare bill

As a state chapter, AARP Florida didn't take a position on the federal Medicare legislation, but instead has followed the national organization's lead, said Jeff Johnson, spokesman for the St. Petersburg-based state affiliate.

For the past several months, state AARP officials have been keeping their members informed as House and Senate conferees in Washington negotiated. Throughout the debate, the national AARP repeatedly pressed for concessions, saying the bill needed to be improved. Then, as a vote drew near, the national group switched gears and called on its members to support the compromise measure.

And the phones have been ringing.

"We spent four months telling people how we need to improve this legislation and now we're telling them that we support it," Johnson said. "So they're saying to us 'Wait a minute. What about this issue? What about that issue? Did they fix it?'"

At state headquarters, callers interested in Medicare are routed directly to AARP staff members. With the myriad changes made during the conference process, Johnson said it's been a full-time effort just to keep members abreast of changes.

"There is a lot of confusion, frankly," Johnson said. "You've got a lot of people who think it's going to push them into an HMO and we're telling them we've minimized that. There was also concern about employer incentives and we worked hard to maintain those. People are still just getting those messages."

The divide among AARP members illustrates the diversity inherent within such a large group, said Clarke Dahlgren, a Fort Myers retiree who serves as an advocate for AARP Florida.

"There are people who are naive to believe that this is either the right answer or the wrong answer," Dahlgren said. "I happen to believe it is neither. It is a step forward."

In some cases, it's a rift between those who retired with adequate, employer-based health care packages and those who didn't.

Earlier versions of the bill that more forcefully steered Medicare recipients toward the HMO camp were opposed by many who saw it as allowing employers to step back from commitments already made.

"You've got large corporation retirees and various governmental retirees and state employees, teachers etc.," Dahlgren said. "That is part of the pendulum. To say that everyone needs prescription drug assistance is just not true."

Yet for many seniors, prescription drug relief is a top priority. The final bill, which is expected to be signed by President Bush when it reaches his desk, reflects those opposing interests and cannot be universally embraced.

"It takes more of a political flavor than I would have liked," Dahlgren said. "But there are a lot of people, not all, that are expecting some changes as a result of commitments made by politicians in the past. To that extent, this moves the ball forward."

Like U.S. House members who were nearly evenly split over the Medicare measure, senior voters are equally divided, said Max Rothman, president of the Florida Council on Aging.

"AARP is going through a big struggle on this thing," Rothman said. "They came out in favor of it but a lot of their members have concerns. I'm sure that's fairly reflective of what a lot of people are thinking."

The national AARP board was split as well.

But provisions including prescription drug relief, more preventative care including closer diabetes screening, and better support for those with chronic illnesses outweighed critics' concerns that the bill didn't go far enough. And given the fiscal challenges facing federal lawmakers, there was a strong feeling that the purse wasn't going to stay open forever.

"A lot of people would have preferred to hold out for an ideal bill, but $400 billion doesn't come around very often, particularly with the federal budget being in the shape it's in right now," Johnson said. "A lot of folks who are struggling to make ends meet can't afford to wait a few years."