President and Chief Executive Officer,
AARP Services, Inc.
In a year filled with unsettled economic
conditions, many consumers wondered
whether anyone was looking out for them.
But members of AARP and older Americans
had a strong ally in AARP Services, which
made some great strides in helping them live
better lives and get more value from hard-earned dollars.
The economic crisis prompted us to look
more closely at how to ask providers to
further enhance AARP-branded products and
services to make changes that would resonate
throughout the marketplace.
The most visible effort literally rolled around
the continental U.S. and Puerto Rico. Nine
bright-red AARP/Walgreens Wellness Tour
buses brought free health screenings to some
194,000 people. Not everyone can afford
adequate health care and many don’t have
access to health providers, so the tour was
designed to reach out to those who might
not receive important screenings otherwise.
We will continue this important joint effort
in 2010 so that more people can get the
information they need to take better care of
their health.
With UnitedHealthcare, we began piloting
a program that tests our belief that people
with multiple chronic conditions will feel
better and spend less on medical care if they
receive hands-on help with managing their
heart disease, diabetes or other debilitating
conditions. United is currently serving 5,400
participants through this important pilot.
In response to members’ requests for
help making their dollars go further on
everyday items, we introduced the online
AARP Grocery Coupon Center powered by
Coupons.com in October. Its impact extended
far beyond the check-out line, however.
Coupons.com donated five cents for every
redeemed coupon to the charitable AARP
Foundation.
The letter we received from a customer of
AARP’s Consumer Cellular mobile-phone
plan expressed appreciation for the value
that AARP Services strives to get from our
providers in all of AARP-branded offers. Ray
E. wrote, “We have had our account (two
phones) with you for almost two years now.
With you we have cut our cell phone bill by
50 percent and haven’t ever had a problem.
You all are the best thing since popcorn. Keep
up the great work.” Our goal is to have all the
members we serve feel the same.
We are committed to making available
products and services that AARP’s diverse
members want and need, while improving
the marketplace for all older Americans. We
know that AARP members are an energetic,
curious, dynamic, diverse and forward-looking group – and that makes our job
endlessly exciting and fulfilling.
