Volunteer Scores Big Win Against Insurance Companies
Volunteer Scores Big Win Against Insurance Companies About AARP
As a volunteer advocate for Wagner knew what to do. She wrote letters opposing the rate increase — three of which were published by the Asheville Citizen-Times and Mountain Xpress — and urged friends, family members, local homeowner associations and other AARP members to contact state officials. She even called the state's insurance commissioner. Chalk up another success. Thanks to Wagner, other AARP advocates and allies, North Carolinians were spared $500 million in rate increases. It was just the latest episode of action for the self-professed “policy geek.” Most recently, Wagner was in Raleigh to lobby lawmakers to help caregivers and improve access to primary care. At the same time, she was fighting to lift restrictions on advanced practice registered nurses. Before that, she highlighted the impact of voter ID requirements on older citizens. Wagner says her activism comes from a deep sense of social justice and a voracious appetite for learning. Policy making energizes her, as does knowing that real lives are at stake. What started Wagner, though, were challenges in her own life. She was diagnosed at 62 with an autoimmune disorder that destroyed her knees within 18 months and forced her to get both replaced. Her medical costs soared. “Without the Affordable Care Act, I would've paid more. It protected me — I was still able to get health insurance, even though I had a preexisting condition." That launched her advocacy work at AARP, fighting to protect the ACA. She has come far in just a handful of years. At a recent luncheon in Asheville, state lawmakers made a beeline to Wagner to get her take on some legislation. She hopes others will join the chorus. “Those of us who have a voice and the energy to act need to be speaking up."
Fighting Insurance Rate Increases in North Carolina
Volunteer Deb Wagner scores big win against providers
AARP After retiring from a career in information technology, Deb Wagner, 66, was back on a budget for the first time in years. So when she heard that insurance carriers wanted to raise home policy rates an average of 18.7 percent across North Carolina, she got angry. "That much of a rate increase is going to have a big impact on people with a fixed income,” she realized.As a volunteer advocate for Wagner knew what to do. She wrote letters opposing the rate increase — three of which were published by the Asheville Citizen-Times and Mountain Xpress — and urged friends, family members, local homeowner associations and other AARP members to contact state officials. She even called the state's insurance commissioner. Chalk up another success. Thanks to Wagner, other AARP advocates and allies, North Carolinians were spared $500 million in rate increases. It was just the latest episode of action for the self-professed “policy geek.” Most recently, Wagner was in Raleigh to lobby lawmakers to help caregivers and improve access to primary care. At the same time, she was fighting to lift restrictions on advanced practice registered nurses. Before that, she highlighted the impact of voter ID requirements on older citizens. Wagner says her activism comes from a deep sense of social justice and a voracious appetite for learning. Policy making energizes her, as does knowing that real lives are at stake. What started Wagner, though, were challenges in her own life. She was diagnosed at 62 with an autoimmune disorder that destroyed her knees within 18 months and forced her to get both replaced. Her medical costs soared. “Without the Affordable Care Act, I would've paid more. It protected me — I was still able to get health insurance, even though I had a preexisting condition." That launched her advocacy work at AARP, fighting to protect the ACA. She has come far in just a handful of years. At a recent luncheon in Asheville, state lawmakers made a beeline to Wagner to get her take on some legislation. She hopes others will join the chorus. “Those of us who have a voice and the energy to act need to be speaking up."