Seniors, do not be fooled by the ads that you see on television almost daily and in the American Association of Retired Persons magazine which state that if AARP is recommending a particular product, you can be sure that it is a good thing for seniors. How that this organization can continue to pretend that they can be trusted to be doing the right thing for all us people who are retired, and most of whom are on fixed incomes, is beyond me. Why isn’t someone going after them and getting them to STOP their false advertising?
Let me try to explain what AARP is doing that makes me so mad. The reason that I, and most seniors, pay into AARP is that we have been fooled into believing that AARP is out there working hard doing things for our benefit. But when AARP is deceiving the public in one area of their work, how in the world can you believe that they are telling you the truth about anything else that they are doing?
My business is insurance and thus I know a little something about things that they are stating about insurance products. As an agent, I, like other agents, am not supposed to criticize insurance companies but in this case, AARP is doing a disservice and seniors need to know about it so that they are wasting their limited income.
Once a senior gets on Medicare Parts A and B, they still need to get the Medicare supplement insurance policy to have all but long term care, dental and vision covered. If they don’t purchase such a policy, they will have deductibles and co-pays to pay that can amount to a great deal of money.
In about 1992, the government standardized all Medicare supplement policies because it got so confusing that not only didn’t the seniors understand what they were buying but many of the agents didn’t understand what they were selling. Now, the Medicare supplement policies are all the same and the only differences are how much you are paying and who you are buying it from. In other words, a Plan F Medicare Supplement policy is the same no matter who you buy it from.
So, wouldn’t a senior then think that the policy that AARP recommends to the seniors should be the least expensive one available on the market? I think that is what most seniors think. We are relying on AARP to be doing things to help us save money. Why would they sell us a policy that costs a lot more than the least expensive one available if they are now all the same? It isn’t right and someone needs to stop them.
I now question everything AARP advertises and everything they say and I am recommending that you do the same. I am asking you to write to AARP and let them know that you know what they are doing and ask them to stop. It might be a good idea to also contact the state attorney general to make sure that this organization is doing things that benefit us seniors.
Written by Ted Anderson. Insurance agent Ted W. Anderson worked in sales for half a century, has lived in Albany since 1993. He is president of Dover Lane Neighborhood Watch. Send email to him at aj@thealbanyjournal.com.
