Page 21 - NAACP Playbook 7.15.19

What is AARP’s relationship with UnitedHealth Group?

AARP is not a health insurer and does not sell, provide or administer health insurance. We’re a social-
mission organization that works on behalf of people 50-plus and their families. We’ve been fighting for
older Americans for nearly 60 years. The insurance offerings you may hear about that use AARP’s name
do so with our blessing – only after we have vetted them for quality and value – but the coverage comes
from the insurance company in question, not AARP.

Health care and related issues have become so partisan. Is AARP aligned with Democrats or
Republicans on various policy issues?

AARP is strictly nonpartisan. In a bipartisan fashion, AARP works with the Trump Administration,
Congress and others to lower prescription drug prices, find treatments for dementia, combat fraud
against our nation’s vets, fight age discrimination, support family caregivers, and more.

I read that AARP is supported by government funds. Is that right?

Like many charities, the AARP Foundation, not AARP, has been awarded some government grants to
help its work on behalf of low-income seniors.

What kinds of Foundation programs are grant-funded?

Several, but two programs are especially notable: SCSEP (pronounced SEE-SEP) and Tax-Aide.
More than 20 million older adults are at risk of not having enough income to meet their basic needs.
Through AARP Foundation SCSEP (Senior Community Service Employment Program), a community-
service and work-based job training program for low-income adults age 55 and older, AARP Foundation
equips low-income older adults with skills and resources to build economic opportunity.
AARP Foundation Tax-Aide has been helping low- to moderate-income taxpayers file their taxes for free
– a program that’s operated since 1968. In 2018, Tax-Aide volunteers helped nearly 2.5 million
taxpayers claim $1.3 billion in income tax refunds and more than $212 million in earned income tax
credits.

People’s tax returns contain a lot of sensitive information, so what is Tax-Aide’s policy on using and
storing data?

By law, the data that the Tax Aide program collects when it helps low-income seniors with their taxes
cannot be – and is not – used for marketing.

What is AARP’s top legislative priority this year?
Among our most important work this year is lowering prescription drug prices, given that Americans pay
the highest brand-name drug prices in the world, and we believe we have a unique moment to secure
bipartisan solutions on behalf of all those we serve.

Why does AARP support Medicare negotiation when it will mean restrictions on medicines higher
premiums, and government control?

Big drug companies are making billions off America's seniors while pricing them out of the medicines
they depend on. PhRMA is running scared because they know allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower
drug prices would mean less money in their pockets. The fact is, they’re not telling the truth. A buyer
negotiating with a seller isn’t interference in the market, it’s standard practice in a free market system.