Dear American Seniors Association, I received your “Please Join Us For A ‘Shred Your AARP Card Rally’” notice the other day, and I thought, “seriously?”

When I first wrote about you back in August, after you made the news for attracting disgruntled AARP members that were angry about Obama’s health care plans, I questioned whether you could capitalize on your new media coverage and become a serious driving force in elder policy. I even sent you emails, offering suggestions.

I am not anti-AARP, but I thought your arrival could present an opportunity for healthy dialogue and new ideas. I have never felt that one view accurately represents all views. I had hoped you would become a respected, helpful organization that delivers honest information and new perspectives on elder policy.

I wrote about you again in October after I saw changes to your website, that you had started offering insurance, and I told people how to join. I noted that I had yet to see any professional research or resource work for seniors, however, only greater attention on generating revenue. While I understood the importance of securing cash flow in order to operate, that was the only work I was seeing.

Then in November I wrote about you one more time, saying I was disappointed in your distortion of the facts on the “death panel” subject. Now I see you are hosting an event for people to shred their AARP cards.

I am still disappointed, and I am losing hope.

I fully recognize that the AARP is a political organization and that they favor a certain agenda, and I have no problem with the fact that you do, but . . . seriously?

Can we as a nation, with you helping us, try moving away from anger and hate in public discourse? We are facing serious, complex public policy problems as our country ages – ALL of us – our seniors, the caregivers, and the children facing the long-term socio-economic impact from the elder wave’s wake.

Please, disagree with others if you like, I encourage it, but do so in a warmer, more informative and helpful way. You are still new enough to shape your identity.

Thank you.

- Derrick

The AARP, along with the American Medical Association, announced yesterday that they support the proposed House version of healthcare reform. For people that have accused the AARP of being nothing more than a left-wing advocacy group, calling them such things as the “American Association of Radical Politicos”, the fact that they support the Pelosi version will comes as no surprise. The 60 Plus Association and others have even accused AARP of merely supporting legislation that they stand to profit from via their insurance offerings to members. The validity of this argument depends on who you listen to and which facts you look at.

I’ve been watching the American Seniors Association (ASA), a self-described “conservative seniors group”, more closely since I last wrote about the group attracting disaffected AARP members to their ranks. I’ve been curious to see if they will successfully capitalize on the media attention they’ve been given. The instant I heard AARP endorsed the House bill, I wanted to see how the ASA would respond. To date I have not seen a specific response to AARP’s endorsement or read about any solution ASA suggests. Stuart Barton, President of the ASA, wrote the following in this opinion piece:

My organization has three major concerns with the proposals advanced by the Obama administration:

1. A government-run plan would limit patient-doctor choice;
2. there would be an employer mandate that would kill jobs and lower wages; and
3. the current House legislation attacks baby boomers and seniors — in fact, every American — by paying for its $1 trillion to $1.6 trillion health care with new taxes and by cutting $500 billion out of Medicare over the next 10 years.

Particularly outrageous is a section of the House bill mandating that a senior citizen must go to counseling every five years with a government bureaucrat in order to basically learn how to prepare to die.

So is the idea behind this current legislation to let baby boomers and seniors die more quickly so the government doesn’t have to care for them in old age? Is that a plan you can believe in?

The merits of the first 3 points Barton mentioned are open to debate, but the latter point, that the government wants baby boomers to die early in order to save money, is absurd. It’s the same “death panel” claim pushed by Sarah Palin. It’s not only false, but to anyone that knows anything about advance directives, it’s a deliberate attempt to mislead individuals and spin facts.

I’m disappointed. While I don’t necessarily subscribe to all the ideas a liberal or conservative group promotes, I respect the opinions of individuals and organizations that tell the truth. IF the AARP is a “true” liberal advocacy group, having a conservative organization pose counterpoints only helps promote honest debate and real solutions. I had hopes that the ASA would stick to their claim that they offer members “real, useful information so you can make up your own mind.” At this stage, I’m just note seeing it.

Since I last wrote about the big news between AARP and the American Seniors Association (ASA), I have received numerous emails asking me questions mostly focused on 1) how to join the ASA, 2) how they compare to AARP and 3) what benefits and insurance programs they offer.

First: if you want to join, visit their website: www.americanseniors.org

Second: The ASA is an elder advocacy group similar to the AARP, but more politically conservative in nature. They’re actually going out of their way to market themselves as a conservative alternative to the AARP. While the AARP does not actively market itself as a liberal organization, some view them as such. The ASA appears to be embracing the conservative niche, doing things like posting Fox News videos on their website’s front page.

Third: Since I first wrote about the ASA, they have partnered with Liberty Mutual insurance group and Mutual of Omaha to offer a insurance benefits through their site. This is undoubtedly an attempt to both appease their increasing member base, but also to generate additional revenue. They are undoubtedly getting lead and/or commission revenue through their partnership with Liberty Mutual.

Buyers should be wary of what they buy regardless of where they buy it, however. American Seniors Association is still relatively new and they don’t have the membership base that AARP does, so if your primary objective in obtaining insurance is to save money, shop widely and wisely. For example, the ASA’s “Medicare Solutions” link on their site is actually a link to Senior Market Sales, Inc., a company that offers insurance products to seniors through third parties.

I did a little digging on the link to “Travel” on the ASA’s site. It appears that they’re just offering a commission based link through www.cltsloyalty.com, a company that partners with others to offer travel and vacation plans. While I see nothing necessarily wrong with this, a disclaimer of some sort might be appropriate. The ASA does not actually state that its their travel program, they’re just implying that it is by listing it on their site and failing to directly state that it’s not their program.

The ASA is still a very new organization that is slowly gaining experience and size. Their website format and design is, in my opinion, still amateur. It is not well organized or designed, and I think that’s indicative of their organization as well.

The ASA’s advocacy efforts appear non-existent, and I see no professional research resources on any work they’re conducting. At this stage, the ASA seems to be offering little more than a way for conservative elders to join an organization that proclaims to represent their interests, but don’t exactly say how. Instead they prominently focus attention on their revenue generating insurance and travel programs.

That being said, I’ve signed up  for their email updates to see how they develop and improve over time. Stay tuned.

AARP‘s support, or limited support (depending on whether you ask President Obama or AARP), of the President’s Health Care Plan has apparently angered so many members that, according to AARP, between 50,000 and 60,000 members have left the organization since July 1st.

Yowzer! Was it the supposed “death panels” claim, general opposition to a government run insurance plan, or just conservative leaning members that have had enough of the group? Either way, the mass exodus of members has caught the attention of the New York Times and AARP itself. Read:

Jim Dau, a spokesman for AARP, said in an interview that while AARP took such rebellions seriously, it had endured them before. In 2003, it lost 70,000 to 80,000 members over its support for a Medicare prescription drug program. In 2005, the organization lost 8,000 to 10,000 members for opposing efforts to privatize Social Security.

What may be different this time is that it appears members are flocking to a relatively new organization called American Seniors Association (ASA). According to their “About Us” page, their mission is to “provide seniors with the choices, information, and services they need to live healthier, wealthier lives.” However, they bill themselves more as a conservative option that stands in opposition to AARP, though they don’t mention AARP by name. Instead they say things like:

• At American Seniors Association, we don’t just take the government’s side like some other associations.
• We are not some big liberal bureaucracy here to try to scare you into going along with Big Government.
• If you’re tired of having some association you’ve never met claiming to speak for you in Washington DC, then the American Seniors Association is a perfect new home for you.

They also state in big red letters across their site’s header: NOW YOU HAVE A CHOICE!

The AARP’s total membership is massive, so losing 50-60k members will not hurt the organization, but news of an alternative to the AARP may have longer-term implications for the organization. The influx of new members to the American Seniors Association, and the media attention that comes with it, represents a significant turning point for their group.

The question now is – can the ASA capitalize on this moment and use it to build momentum, enough to become a serious driving force in elder policy?

Watch this CBS news report for similar information: