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David Irwin, director of communications for AARP Idaho, told lawmakers on the health care task force that Idaho could face “unintended consequences” if it decides to opt out of federal health care reform. “A move to opt out could reduce or cut federal relief for our state’s increasing number of uninsured,” he said, noting that a recent Kaiser Family Foundation study showed that nearly 88 percent of Idaho’s 221,000 uninsured residents have jobs, and 75 percent have full-time jobs. “The reality is many don’t have health care because it costs too much,” he said.
“Opting out could vastly reduce Idaho’s bargaining power for better health care prices, as opposed to being part of a national purchasing pool that can negotiate lower prices,” Irwin told lawmakers.
Betsy Z. Russell covers Idaho news from The Spokesman-Review's bureau in Boise.
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idahoman on November 10 at 9:59 a.m.
Right on AARP - keep the heat on these guys to do what's right!!
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oldman on November 12 at 11:41 a.m.
My wife and I were thinking of signing with AARP. Now that AARP is backing the government health plan we are not joing with AARP.
This Government has no place in health care. This plan will bankrupt the USA. There are much better ideas and plans out there. We do not need Government controling our every move!
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tlo on November 13 at 8:15 p.m.
Oldman: what's your problem with “goverment in health care?” It seems to work: my experience is that medicare is a lot easier to deal with than Blue Cross, as one example. And how about VA? though there are complaints the preponderance of comments I hear are positive. If I were not already an AARP member I'd consider joining just because they seem to be trying to do a straight and thorough job of explaining our healthcare mess and what they see we should do to get out of it. They've done a good job of torpedoing a lot of the misinformation (lies) out there—”death panels” and “socialized medicine” for example— and seem to be a reasonable middle-of-the road voice.
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IdahoRed on November 15 at 1:12 a.m.
What is wrong with nationalized health care is that it is unconstitutional and a vile attack on our liberties. It is nothing more than a power grab cloaked in health care. And yes, there are death panels in the bill and it is socialized medicine. A bird by any other color is still a bird. AARP is not the be all, end all authority on what Americans are willing to trade for their freedoms. And I for one, and many I know of are not joining AARP and many I know of that were members are quitting due to their stance on this health care debacle.
You obviously are endowed to the entitlement game. As an individual you do not have the right to steal from your neighbor and give to another neighbor just because you think it is just. So what makes you think you have the right to appoint a representative to do it for you? Constitutionally, our government representatives can only do what we appoint them to do and we cannot appoint them to do something for us that is not legal for us to do for ourselves. And last I heard, it wasn't legal for me to force my neighbor to pay for my health insurance and it isn't legal for the government to force me to buy health care insurance or any other product I do not wish to purchase.
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slfisher on November 15 at 11:41 a.m.
Actually, it's only socialized medicine if the government is controlling the doctors and healthcare itself.
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