Albany AARP office praises H.R. 3962

The bill in the House of Representatives designed to make more health care accessible to more Americans is expected to be put to a vote Saturday in Washington.  Supporters got a boost Friday from AARP, the largest lobbying group in the country, when the organization endorsed the bill, known as the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962).  In Albany, members of AARP said the group would fight, if necessary, to make sure certain aspects of the bill remain intact.

"Our board of directors have set our what is important to us," says Angela Neal, of AARP's Albany office. "Strengthening and protecting Medicare is something that is very, very important to us, so in the end, the final bill has to do that and we will fight to make sure it does."

In announcing its support for the bill, AARP said the endorsement follows "nearly two years of work with the lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to craft a health care reform plan taht meets teh needs of AARP's nearly 40 million members, 2.6 million of whom live in New York State, and all older Americans."

AARP also supported the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act (H.R. 3961).

Among the points AARP made about why it supports the House bill, according to AARP it:

- protects traditional Medicare benefits for seniors and makes Medicare more financially sound.

- reduces brand name drug costs by 50% or enrollees in the doughnut hole and takes immediate steps to eliminate the hole by 2019.

- creates new rules for insurance companies so that they can no longer discriminate against people who are sick.

- creates a new voluntary public insurance program that could help future generations of disabled New Yorkers pay for long-term care.