AARP - Your New HMO

The NYT reports that the nation's preeminent lobby for older Americans is going to offer its services as HMO to Medicare recipients and people as young as 50. Other Medicare watchdog groups are highly concerned by the tremendous conflicts of interest that this new arrangement will create when it is offered next year.

Yet in many ways, AARP has been a commercial enterprise for years. AARP's positions to date have not been noticeably impacted by their life insurance activities, for example. Democrats in Washington seem to welcome AARP's expansion, and Republicans could seek to curry AARP's favor as they try to privatize Social Security and Medicare.

The real test will be AARP's stance on privatization. If AARP suddenly changes its mind on this important issue, then the organization has in all probability been co-opted.

Of course, AARP may already be turning into one of the evil corporations it has railed against for years. AARP has already warned that it is "not economically feasible" to extend coverage to everyone. Maybe someone's wires got crossed, but isn't that precisely the problem that AARP has attacked traditional HMOs for?

AARP might end up offering better coverage than average. They plan to be serving more than 7 million more people by 2014.

Better take your vitamins.