Posted November 5, 2009 12:15 PM
by Noam N. Levey
As House Democrats prepare to vote Saturday on a sweeping bill to overhaul the nation’s healthcare system, they picked up an important endrosment this morning from the 40-million member AARP, the nation’s largest senior citizens group.
The group, which has been pushing for a health overhaul for more than a year, had withheld a formal endorsement of any of the healthcare bills being developed by congressional Democrats.
But today, AARP executive vice president Nancy LeaMond said the group saw the House Democratic bill as the most promising proposal.
“We can say with confidence that it meets our priorities for protecting Medicare, providing more affordable insurance for 50 to 64-year-olds and reforming our healthcare system,” she said at the group’s Washington headquarters.
The AARP’s backing counters mounting opposition among employer groups who are stepping up their advertising campaign against the House Democratic bill. And it comes on a day when other influential groups are swinging their weight behind the healthcare legislation.
On Tuesday, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network announced its endorsment of the House bill. The American Medical Association, the nation’s largest doctors group, also announced it support today.
