Annual Report AARP 2009

Highlights of AARP’s 2009 Health Care Campaign

AARP worked hard throughout 2009 to help members sort through the difficult policy options for achieving health reform, and to make informed decisions. We fought hard on their behalf for passage of legislation that met our priorities.

Here is a snapshot of those efforts:

Tele-town halls: These innovative conference calls conducted by telephone provided an exciting, yet inexpensive, way to engage our members—hearing their concerns and questions and educating them about what reform would mean for them. More than 1. 5 million AARP members participated in 150 of these calls. Guest speakers included President Barack Obama, members of Congress from both parties and health-policy experts.

AARP was honored on July 28 when President Obama joined AARP CEO A. Barry Rand and AARP President Jennie Chin Hansen in answering members’ questions at a national tele-town hall on health reform. The event, which marked the first time a sitting president had visited AARP, was broadcast from our National Office in Washington, DC.

Town hall meetings: More than 130,000 people got the facts and shared their views during AARP’s 455 traditional town-hall meetings.

Opinion-leader forums: Each of AARP’s state offices gathered doctors, nurses, hospital executives, business leaders, labor union members, health policy experts or others for candid discussions of how to improve health care for 50+ Americans.

Advocacy: 1. 1 million AARP members signed petitions to Congress. AARP Board members and senior staff testified about our priorities at numerous hearings, often sharing in-depth research. We also wrote letters and consulted frequently with members of Congress who were shaping or amending legislation.

Print, radio and TV: Numerous articles in AARP’s newspaper and magazines, supplemented with regular updates on AARP.org, helped members make informed decisions. For example, an open letter from AARP’s leaders in the September AARP Bulletin debunked myths with facts.