The American Association of Retired People (AARP) has built a good image among older Americans. But they aren’t looking out for the best interests of the retired. They are selling their mailing lists and support to the big health insurance companies, and making millions in the process.
Read this piece by nyceve at dKos:
The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) derives significant income from the sale of health and life insurance policies, and stands to make hundreds of millions more under the Medicare Prescription Drug bill now being debated before Congress. Yet the AARPís financial interests in the bill have received scant attention.
The AARPs current insurance-related revenues come in several streams.
1- They receive royalties from AARP insurance policies marketed to their members by United Healthcare, MetLife and others. Last year these royalties amounted to $123.283 million.
2- They receive list access fees from insurance firms that market to their membership. In 2002, such fees totaled $10.794 million.
3- AARP receives Quality Control fees from insurers that amounted to $893,000 last year.
4- AARP also earns investment income on the premiums received from members until such premiums are forwarded to UnitedHealthcare and MetLife. In 2002, AARP earned $26.708 million in such investment income.
Also, make no mistake, the AARP does not support guaranteed affordable insurance for all Americans–single-payer. They support selling junk insurance to desperate Americans.
A lot of people wonder whether the Medicare D travesty would have passed had AARP not jumped on the bandwagon. Keep reading, the AARP is making a ton of $$$$$ on Medicare D.
We know Mr. Novelli, the president of AARP is a loyal card-carrying Republican, so that tells you why this quite terrible organization supported the creation of Medicare D. It was not in the best interests of America’s elderly, but it was real good ($$$$$$) business for AARP.
There is a special place in hell for those who bilk money out of the elderly.
Over the line, Smokey! 
Interesting Read! Very detailed blog.
Thanks for sharing