Christopher Jacobs of the Federalist highlights a dubious report from the nation’s leading retirees group.
A study recently released by the AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, attempts to rebut claims by “critics” of Joe Biden’s Inflation (Reduction) Act (IRA) “that the law will lead to higher costs for enrollees.” It frequently cites numbers like “94 percent” to give the impression that most, if not all, seniors will see savings from the law. But as with most things related to the AARP, the headline amounts to less than meets the eye. In reality, 1) most seniors won’t benefit from one of the law’s main provisions, meaning they will suffer from higher costs, not lower ones, 2) the cost of the IRA has come in substantially higher than advertised, and 3) AARP and its paymasters will benefit financially from the IRA — which might explain why the organization “forgot” to mention items 1) and 2). …
… But AARP isn’t trying to present a balanced discussion of costs and benefits; it’s just flat-out shilling for Joe Biden and his flawed law. Consider this sentence buried in the study: “The current analysis found that 94 percent of the more than one million Part D enrollees who are projected to reach the new $2,000 out-of-pocket spending cap will have lower total (i.e., premiums plus cost sharing) out-of-pocket costs in 2025.”
Even as it advertises the “94 percent” figure, the “more than one million” number means that, by AARP’s own analysis, more than 94 percent of beneficiaries (i.e., roughly 52-53 million of the 54 million Part D enrollees) will not benefit from the out-of-pocket cap. These individuals by definition will have higher out-of-pocket costs because they will pay higher premiums to fund a catastrophic spending cap they will not reach. It’s a truly Orwellian approach: Claim virtually all beneficiaries will benefit when virtually none will.
And AARP apparently plans to take that approach on the road.
