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CBS News, AP report AARP losing thousands of members protesting group's Obamacare support

By: Mark Tapscott
Editorial Page Editor
08/18/09 7:47 AM EDT

Earlier this month, I reported that a revolt was breaking out among AARP's 40-million members in response to the enthusiastic and extensive lobbying by the group's Washington leadership on behalf of Obamacare. Now, other media are beginning to notice and we are starting to get a trickle of numbers that hint at the magnitude of the outrage among AARP's members.

CBS News reported Monday that a top AARP official admits the organization has lost at least 60,000 members who specifically cited the Obamacare issue as their reason for leaving. And the CBS report also noted a spike in new membership at a conservative rival to the AARP, the American Seniors Association.

And today AP follows the CBS report with additional details, quoting AARP vice president for communications Drew Nannis saying the organization loses hundreds of thousands of members annually as part of a normal turnover process:

"'We take stands on issues that are contentious, it's part of what we do,' Nannis said. 'And because we have so many members we'll always have a small percentage that disagree with us so strongly they feel they need to cancel membership.'

"The approximately 60,000 number represents members who specifically cited AARP's stance on the health overhaul debate in canceling their membership between July 1 and mid-August, Nannis said. He said that on average AARP loses some 300,000 members a month, but he couldn't say how many more members had quit for other reasons in that time period.

"He said AARP gained some 400,000 new members during the same period and that 1.5 million members renewed their membership."

I suspect that Nannis is low-balling the numbers. When my July 30 column appeared predicting that Obamacare could be the death of AARP, it unleashed a torrent of present and former AARP members commenting in response about why they were or had already resigned from the organization.

Newspaper editors have an old rule of thumb that every letter to the editor represents 10 or more readers who have similar views. At one point last week, I counted more than 60 such comments. And that was just in The Examiner. Other media are clearly hearing the same thing from their viewers and readers.

No surprise at that in this corner. That's why that July 30 column concluded with this observation: "In short, Obamacare means health care rationing for old folks, the sick and the terminally ill. There will be hell to pay for AARP with its members when this ugly reality becomes crystal clear, as it most certainly will."

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Reader Comments

All comments on this page are subject to our Terms of Use and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Examiner or its staff. Comment box is limited to 250 words.

jerry kaplan

Aug 18, 2009

AARP is primarily in the business of selling supplemental insurance to Seniors. Hence AARP would love a National Health plan that provides very little in service and money, This opens the door for more business for them

Louie

Aug 18, 2009

AARP is a Leftist organization supporting those types of issues.

brewpop

Aug 18, 2009

I dumped AARP years ago during the HillaryCare fiasco. Now we have the ObamaCare fiasco and AARP is doing the same thing: selling their senior membership down the tubes by supporting cuts in Medicare that will surely come home to roost on seniors. What an organization!

aposematic

Aug 18, 2009

AARP is nothing but a liberal/progressive hack organization run by a cabal of liberal/progressive hacks. That is why I am not and never will be an AARP member.

Viet.Vet

Aug 18, 2009

It seems that most of them have blinders on plus a hatred for the President because if not, they sould ask them selves,why do my insurance Premiums and co-pay go up each year? There is no Competition or Incentives to lower cost amoung the Insurance company,they can pick and chose who they will insure. The money that the Insurance companys pay for lobbists and donate to Individual congressman yearly to maintain the status quo and millionare CEO could insure thousands of americans annually but I guess the haters don't take the time to see this through all the smoke screens.

Aug 18, 2009

EEwwwww 60,000 out of 40 million.... Yep it is a revolt.... Well maybe not. Just like this trash rag reports the rest of the news.

Barry Malarcher

Aug 18, 2009

Thank you Mark. i did not know about ASA but i'm very familiar with AARcraP. i'm 63 and have been throwing away hundreds of dollars worth of unsolicited AARP membership applications over the years. Now i wish i had kept at least one of them so i could tear it up and send it to ASA. i have joined ASA and encourage everyone to dump their AARcraP membership, which, on closer investigation, is yet another version of ACORN.

Tony Smith

Aug 18, 2009

Did you mention that the American Seniors Association is basically paying people (via a 2years for the price of 1) membership drive who mail in their AARP cards torn up? Neither does CBS or the AP - even though CBS films ASA officials opening envelopes with torn AARP cards. http://dissentingjustice.blogspot.com/2009/08/cbs-news-continues-misleading-reporting.html

Stop Cutting Medicare Payments To Doctors!

Aug 18, 2009

We have only one Psychiatrist in San Diego that will accept Medicare assignment, because payments are cut regularly. We must go to a clinic in Mexican Ghetto which only speaks Spanish! We need our doctors back!

Guy Jones

Aug 22, 2009

@Viet Vet

One of the reasons private healthcare plan premiums have been rising is the fact that privately insured plans essentially subsidize and prop up Medicare by compensating doctors for the lower rates that Medicare compensates them at. Basically, the only reason Medicare is able to pay doctors at lower rates is because the difference is made up on the backs of the privately insured. H.R. 3200 exacerbates this problem by having the "public option" compensate doctors at Medicare rates -- thus ensuring that privately insured folks will see their premiums skyrocket as a new influx of patients joining the public option forces doctors to turn to the privately insured to balance out their compensation. Of course, Medicare's paltry compensation rates and long delays in reimbursing doctors are a major reason why fewer and fewer doctors are accepting Medicare now...

jorogo

Oct 22, 2009

I had joined AARP before I learned their policies. I let my membership expire recently because I found AARP to be a front for the insurance industry, especially United Health.

Legislated mandatory coverage without a public option plays right into the pockets of insurance corporations, explaining AARP's support for current proposals.

I refuse to be a member again until AARP supports beneficial reform, like a single payer non-profit universal health insurance.

sonny46806

Nov 16, 2009

It is in my opinion that the AARP has just slapped its seniors in the face. Many Seniors at our community center have dropped or will not renew subscriptions to AARP. AARP should remain imformative not making decisions for us.

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Dec 6, 2009

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Dec 17, 2009

We must go to a clinic in Mexican Ghetto which only speaks Spanish! lol:)

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CBS News, AP report AARP losing thousands of members protesting group's Obamacare support

By: Mark Tapscott
Editorial Page Editor
08/18/09 7:47 AM EDT