President-elect Barack Obama should take note – health reform is about the little things just as much as it is sweeping changes to the system.

Information gathered from a batch of more than 8,500 meetings held around the country in December will be compiled and used to help design the healthcare proposal that has been in the news as of late. Obama’s transition team plans to post some of the material at change.gov.

One particular meeting took place late December 2008, between newly appointed secretary of health and human services, the former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, and more than two dozen seniors During this meeting, seniors told Daschle that they placed more importance on certain things such as waiting times to see their doctor, the increasing cost of prescription drugs, and the narrow range of Medicare coverage for certain medical procedures, equipment, and treatments.

An Example for Health Care Reform: Alzheimer’s

One woman at the meeting cited her family’s history of Alzheimer’s disease for her hope that the new administration will put heavy emphasis on medical research. A man said that helping people live healthier lives should receive more emphasis than it currently does – not only to improve health, but also to reduce medical costs for individuals and the nation as a whole. Another man says he wants medical providers to show more concern for the people they treat than whether or not those people will pay their medical bills.

Daschle says that lawmakers are more likely to get behind a new health care system if voters provide enough incentive pressure. And it seems that the transition team is listening: The Obama administration is encouraging seniors to submit their own stories about health care – and any other issues they think need to be addressed.

The team should also take one final note: The current effort to gather information about the health care system has been compared to the 2005-2006 attempt by the Citizens Health Care Working Group. More than 6,500 people participated in meetings across America, and a further 14,000 participated in online surveys. The Congress-sponsored group eventually recommended guaranteed health coverage for certain doctor’s visits, and some ways to protect people from high health care costs – but none of its recommendations were acted upon.

Let’s hope that this new round of meetings prompts some real change.

photo credit: woodleywonderworks

AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, but now known more commonly by its acronym) is a non-profit, non-government interest group which, according to its web site mission statement, is “dedicated to enhancing quality of life for all as we age,” by providing “a wide range of unique benefits, special products, and services for our members.” AARP acts as a member advocate, and is a powerful lobbying group. It also sells insurance, investment products, and endorses certain insurance companies.

Sounds good, yes? But by virtue of its habit of endorsing insurance companies, AARP has recently come under fire. The Kaiser Family Network recently revealed that AARP’s endorsements don’t come cheaply – 43% of the revenue the supposedly non-profit, independent advocacy group collected in 2007 came from royalties and fees the organization took from insurance companies – as payment for endorsements.

Doesn’t sound too much like consumer advocacy, does it.

AARP Endorsements Equal Higher Insurance Costs for Consumers

AARP advertising claims that by choosing AARP-endorsed insurance, AARP members will save money. But as it turns out, those AARP-endorsed insurers often charge higher premiums. And the reason for the higher price is at least in part because the insurers add the cost of AARP’s fees and royalties to the price that consumers pay.

Under AARP insurance plans, the organization collects the premiums from AARP members, and pays the insurance companies. And the insurance companies then return a portion of that fee to AARP, in the form of those royalties and fees. So AARP is telling people to purchase insurance from certain companies, and this supposedly ‘independent’ organization is taking a cut of the premiums. In 2007, this earned AARP a cool $500 million.

There’s more, of course. When AARP receives payments from its members, it holds that money in its own accounts for up to a month before paying the insurers. And that month is enough investment time for the company to have earned a further $40 million in interest from its own members.

Now obviously, that’s not illegal. But it’s clear that there’s a conflict of interest here. And this has been noted in the past, too, with BusinessWeek saying that many of the insurance and finance products endorsed and sold by AARP are actually no better than products that seniors could get on their own or through the government – and in some cases may even be worse.

Taking Consumer Driven Health Care into Your Own Hands

In the past few years, consumer driven health care has taken over many of the older and well-established methods of health insurance, and although it’s common to save hundreds – or even thousands of dollars -  simply by choosing a private health insurance plan, it’s not always the best choice, especially for seniors, who are often already given a wide range of benefits from the government.

The controversy with AARP shows that endorsements of health plans may not be truly “independent.” This highlights the need for you – the consumer – to take the important research into your own hands so you can decide on the best plan for both you and your family.

photo credit: Publicly Scalped