Aarp Medical Insurance
The American Association of Retired Persons, or in other word the AARP, is America's leading non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of people aged 50 and older. Statistically speaking it has over 35million members, 40,000 of whom live outside the . Members do not have to be retired; as a matter of fact, 40 percent of them work full or part time. Membership is open to anyone who is 50 or older, and with 25 percent of the American population in this age bracket, nearly half of all people in this group have memberships.
The median age of AARP members is around 65, and slightly more than half are female. The organization is "dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for all as we age. We lead positive social change as well as deliver value to members through information, advocacy and service." The AARP in general provides information bulletins about news relevant to the older population, acts as a lobby group to advance their interests, promotes community involvement by its members, and offers its members a wide range of products and services such as health insurance. AARP was founded in 1958 by retired high school principal Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus. Furthermore the AARP grew out of the National Retired Teachers Association, which Dr. Andrus had established in 1947 to promote her philosophy of productive aging and to offer health insurance to retired teachers. In that time, health insurance was virtually unavailable to older Americans, since few private insurers would accept these high-risk clients and the American government had not yet established Medicare, which was only enacted in 1965. This association of retired teachers grew to give membership advantages to all retired citizens. It is now a world-wide organization with headquarters in
Lausanne, Switzerland and Washington, D.C. , local offices in every state, and over 2,500 local chapters. Apart from that AARP has 2 affiliated groups. One is the AARP Foundation, which is more or less a charity that runs social programs to
help people 50 and older, and also supports AARP Foundation Litigation, a national group focusing on legal issues affecting older Americans. Whereas the second is AARP Services, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of AARP which provides members with products and services such as medical, automobile, home and life insurance, discounts on prescriptions and prescription eyewear, and a travel discount program. Source of Funds AARP gets income from memberships, advertising revenue from its publications, royalty fees from companies providing AARP-endorsed products, and extra fees from member programs. Publications AARP members get bimonthly the "AARP Magazine" and also the "AARP Bulletin" printed 11 times per year. In addition AARP also publishes "Segundo Juventud", a quarterly Spanish-English newspaper targeting the Hispanic community.
The AARP website also gives information on a wide range of topics. AARP also offers "Prime Time Radio", a weekly interview program focusing on the interests of mature people, and the daily "Mature Focus Radio which has brief discussions on various topics. AARP's Public Policy Institute researches international factors affecting aging and uses the results of these researches to help draft public policy recommendations The AARP as Lobby Group The AARP has been quite an effective force in causing the government to become more aware of the interests of the older population. More often they undertake litigation in cases of age discrimination, pensions, health care, and economic security and consumer issues. AARP volunteers quite a number of times appear before the congress to testify about the effects of government policies on the elderly. At local level, AARP trains volunteers in how to deal with government officials. However non-partisan, the AARP keeps its members informed on each party's stand on issues affecting older Americans. AARP representatives in addition also participate in international conferences on aging. The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) in general boasts a membership of over thirty five million people aged fifty years and older. The large chunk of non-profit organization is recognized as apolitical advocacy powerhouse whose influence seems to grow along with the graying" of America. AARP, though, does not limit itself exclusively to legislative lobbying for its membership demographic; it also (in conjunction with established companies) provides insurance opportunities to its members.
Two of these products consist of AARP life insurance and AARP medical insurance . AARP Medicare Insurance AARP offers a health insurance policy designed to supplement the coverage provided by Medicare. This sort of "Medicare Supplement Insurance" is offered in association with United HealthCare Insurance Company. Premised on the concept that Medicare generally covers slightly more than half of an individual's health care expenses, AARP's Medicare health insurance plan seeks to offer a means by which to cover costs such as co-insurance, deductibles and prescription medications. AARP medical insurance program allows members to continue utilization of their own physicians and is promoted with a focus on its ease of use, as well as its coverage.
For example, AARP members using this supplementary insurance plans are not required to fill out claim forms and the coverage is valid across the U.S., making it available for use when traveling and in other similar circumstances. Furthermore according to AARP, rates for this insurance product are not increased based on age alone. Most importantly individuals are not to be "singled out" for rate increases, either. Moreover rate changes are applied to all members of a matching class insured under the plan and residing in the same state. AARP can be termed as one of America's largest organizations and is one of its most politically powerful. In addition to using its membership to wield political clout, AARP has also used its large amount of membership as a group for insurance purposes. Teaming up with established providers such as
New York Life and United Healthcare, AARP medical insurance packages ranging from AARP life insurance to AARP Medicare supplementary health insurance.
Other Articles
