AARP applauds Senate for moving health care reform forward

The U.S. Senate this morning voted to move forward with health care reforms that will begin to bring needed relief to millions of Americans struggling with high costs and discriminatory insurance company practices. Pending legislation would protect and improve the guaranteed benefits that people in Medicare rely on, and make progress toward ending the rampant discrimination used by insurers to deny coverage to those who need it most.

AARP sent a letter to each Senate office informing them that the Association designated this morning's cloture vote on the manager's amendment to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act an "AARP Key Vote." AARP will report back to its members and the public how each Senator votes on the procedural measure that would allow the Senate to end debate and move towards a final up-or-down vote on the bill.

*Did not vote

** How a legislator votes on issues is only one factor in evaluating his or her legislative performance, which should also include such things as constituency services and committee work.

"AARP commends Senators Burris and Durbin for voting to move forward on health care reform to protect guaranteed Medicare benefits and help millions of older Americans overcome the challenges of accessing affordable, quality health services," said Bob Gallo, AARP Illinois Senior State Director. "The legislation is needed to lower drug costs, provide relief by beginning to limit age discrimination by health insurance companies and strengthen our system of long-term services and supports. We believe this legislation can be improved even further in conference and will be working with our state delegation to make meaningful health care reform a reality."

AARP notified the 111th Congress that it was tracking roll call votes on key legislation important to its nearly 40 million members and reporting the outcomes of these votes back to its members and all older Americans.

"When Americans understand the issues and where their lawmakers stand, they can make smart decisions. AARP will be there to give our members, as well as all Americans, the most accurate information we can," Gallo concluded.

AARP members and all older Americans can see how their representatives voted on health care reform by going to www.aarp.org/governmentwatch. AARP's Government Watch is a one-stop online portal that will be tracking and publicizing every designated key vote on issues facing Americans age 50-plus. A "Key Vote Summary" highlighting votes on these issues will be published at the end of each congressional session.