AARP clarifies that it has not officially endorsed healthcare bills

AARP on Tuesday issued a correction to a statement made by President Barack Obama at his town hall meeting earlier that day. It clarified that the seniors advocacy group has not officially backed any healthcare reform legislation drafts.

Obama implied at the New Hampshire town hall event Tuesday that AARP had thrown its support behind the current reform proposals circulating through Capitol Hill. He said, "AARP would not be endorsing a bill if it was undermining Medicare." While AARP agreed that it would not, in fact, endorse a bill that undermines Medicare, Chief Operating Officer Tom Nelson issued a statement pointing out that the agency had yet to officially endorse any bill.

"Indications that we have endorsed any of the major health care reform bills currently under consideration in Congress are inaccurate," Nelson said in his statement. "We share the President's commitment to act this year, and our members appreciate his insistence that any final reform package will not reduce Medicare benefits for the millions of people that literally depend on that program as a lifeline."