AARP Florida volunteers played key role in protecting Medicare, stopping harmful Age Tax health-care plan

In the short span of just three weeks, AARP Florida volunteers' combined efforts helped defeat a plan in the U.S. Congress that would have weakened Medicare and cost older Americans thousands more every year, AARP's Florida state director, Jeff Johnson, said.

Since the introduction of the American Health Care Act, AARP Florida volunteers made phone calls, wrote letters, utilized social media and made videos to let congressional leaders know that they won't be taken advantage of, said Johnson.

"You stood up for your rights and made your voices heard, and for that we thank you," he said.

“We saw how unfairly this bill treated older Americans, and volunteers across the country took action to stop such ageism,” Johnson said. “Our volunteers are committed to making a difference, and this is another example of how they succeeded. Our country’s power is designed to lie with the people, not with our leaders, and with the defeat of this bill we showed how strong our voices are.”

The proposed bill would have cost millions of older Americans more for health coverage, and incorporated a provision that would let insurers charge older people up to five times more than younger people for the same insurance coverage, just because of their age.   Under existing law, insurers may charge no more than three times as much for older policyholders than younger ones.  Additionally, an estimated 14 million Americans would have lost health coverage in the next year alone.

"Had this bill passed, it would have had long lasting detrimental effects across the country, but voices like yours spoke up and put a stop to what would have caused widespread medical and financial insecurity," Johnson said.

"Volunteers like you worked with unwavering dedication to protecting the interests of the American people. In the end, it was made clear to Congress that the AHCA was not sufficient for Americans and the bill had fundamental flaws too great to overlook."

“We are beyond grateful for all of our volunteers and their persistence and enthusiasm when fighting this bill,” Donna Ginn, Volunteer State President of AARP Florida, said. “We could not have done this without them. Our efforts would be meaningless without their support and action.”

Striving to block a bill often sees disappointment, especially one of such prominence. However, this was a fight AARP members were determined not to lose.

Johnson thanked AARP volunteers throughout the state for standing up for themselves and millions of other Floridians age 50 plus.  "You did not just speak of action, you made the difference. Because of your efforts, you saw success when it counted more than ever."