Nowhere were AARP's conflicting roles more evident than in its lobbying in support of a 2003 bill proposed by President Bush to expand Medicare, the federal health insurance program for people older than 65.

The bill, which for the first time added a prescription drug plan to Medicare, passed by a vote of 220-215 in the House of Representatives and 54-44 in the Senate. Thousands of AARP members complained that the legislation was a bad deal for seniors because it provided incomplete coverage and raised costs for seniors with low incomes.

After the Medicare bill was signed into law by Bush in December 2003, AARP was able to expand its contract with Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth G...

Nowhere were AARP's conflicting roles more evident than in its lobbying in support of a 2003 bill proposed by President Bush to expand Medicare, the federal health insurance program for people older than 65.

The bill, which for the first time added a prescription drug plan to Medicare, passed by a vote of 220-215 in the House of Representatives and 54-44 in the Senate. Thousands of AARP members complained that the legislation was a bad deal for seniors because it provided incomplete coverage and raised costs for seniors with low incomes.

After the Medicare bill was signed into law by Bush in December 2003, AARP was able to expand its contract with Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group Inc., which underwrites AARP's Medicare supplemental insurance plan.