Public Affairs Director Jon Michaels (since 1977) talks with Erik Galkowski, State Director of AARP South Dakota, about what 100,000 members in just South Dakota are doing.

From their website aarp.org

AARP is the nation's largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering Americans 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to the more than 100 million Americans 50-plus and their families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also works for individuals in the marketplace by sparking new solutions and allowing carefully chosen, high-quality products and services to carry the AARP name. As a trusted source for news and information, AARP produces the nation's largest circulation publications, AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org/about-aarp/, www.aarp.org/español or follow @AARP, @AARPenEspañol and @AARPadvocates on social media.

Advocating for people age 50-plus is at the heart of our mission. It's part of what we do every day from our national office in Washington, D.C., and from offices in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. On health security, AARP fights to protect Medicare, expand access to health care, lower prescription drug prices, support caregivers and protect nursing home residents. On financial stability, we fight to protect Social Security, establish savings plans for workers and stop scams and fraud. We also work to combat age discrimination in the workplace and speak up for the vulnerable and underrepresented on issues like affordable housing and food security.

AARP is a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that doesn’t endorse candidates or make contributions to political campaigns or candidates. Its members come from across the political spectrum, and AARP has a long record of making sure that elected officials from both parties address the issues that matter to all Americans age 50-plus, including protecting Social Security and Medicare.  

Our advocacy efforts have been nonpartisan since our founding in 1958. We have worked with Republican and Democratic administrations and members of Congress, governors and state legislators from both parties to achieve many victories for older Americans, including:

Fighting for Health Security

• Lowering prescription drug prices: We helped to lower prescription drug prices by empowering Medicare to negotiate prices of certain drugs, to cap out-of-pocket costs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries and to impose tax penalties for drugmakers that increase prices faster than inflation.
• Adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare: In 2003, AARP worked with the George W. Bush administration to create Medicare Part D, which for the first time provided Medicare coverage for prescription drugs, and worked with Barack Obama’s administration to close gaps in Part D coverage.
• Providing Medicare coverage for telemedicine: During the COVID-19 pandemic AARP called on Medicare to expand coverage of telemedicine and for increased tax credits for health insurance premiums under the Affordable Care Act.
• Bringing low-cost hearing aids to market: We successfully pushed for the authorization of over-the-counter hearing aids, an affordable and convenient solution for millions of Americans experiencing moderate hearing loss.
• Protecting people with preexisting health conditions: AARP supported passage of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which expanded health insurance access, prevented a costly “age tax” to purchase insurance, and required insurers to cover people with pre-existing conditions.
• Helping families care for loved ones: AARP supported the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, which provides unpaid leave to employees for care of a family member or to take care of their own health.

Fighting for Financial Security

• Preventing Social Security privatization: AARP fought against turning Social Security into risky private accounts and to ensure Social Security remained an earned guaranteed benefit.
• Protecting Social Security COLAs: AARP fought against efforts by both parties to reduce cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security, which are especially critical when prices are rising.
• Expanding and protecting pensions: We advocated for expanded opportunities for workplace retirement savings, including for part-time workers, and to protect pension benefits that workers have earned.
• Protecting the medical expense deduction: AARP fought to protect the medical expense tax deduction to provide some measure of financial help for those with high health care expenses.

Fighting to Protect Consumers

• Protecting consumers from telemarketers: AARP supported the rollout of the National Do Not Call Registry in 2003.
• Protecting older workers from discrimination: AARP worked diligently to ensure passage of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 and the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act in 1990, which protect workers 40 and older from age discrimination in the workplace.

AARP also has a long history of nonpartisan voter engagement. As a nonpartisan organization, we don’t support or contribute to political candidates, parties or campaigns — and never have.

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