The American Association of Retired Persons, or AARP, has been involved in New York legislative politics principally in connection with policies about prescription drugs. In 2007, for example, AARP lobbied for a law that would enable the state to buy prescription drugs in bulk and mandate passing the savings to uninsured or underinsured residents of New York (Bridges 2). The high and rising costs of prescription drugs were described as the rationale for AARP's position. The group also called for disclosure by drug manufacturers of the amount of money they spent on marketing, including the gifting of incentives to physician prescribers.
With its state-by-state Internet presence, its practice of creating press releases, and its practice of using survey and polling data to lend credibility to its position, AARP sought to influence the legislative agenda both directly and indirectly in respect of its prescription-drug initiatives. Accordingly, in early 2007, it published a survey that it commissioned regarding how likely respondents were to vote for legislators who favored the bulk-buying initiative. The survey was confined to one state-senate district, in anticipation of a special election to be held for a vacant senate seat in the New York legislature. Of those surveyed, 64 percent strongly supported the initiative, and 58 percent said that they would be more likely to vote for a political candidate who supported it.
The survey report cites figures from Senate District No. 7 showing that about 75 percent of persons 50 and older take prescriptions every day and that a similar number are concerned about the costs. Approximately 8 percent reported delaying prescription refills because of cost, and 57 percent complained that the state has not "done enough to keep prescription drugs affordable and accessible to all New Yorkers" (Bridges 2). AARP also maintains at its Internet site a link to a New York State site on whic...