By Matt Sepic, KWMU
St. Louis – At a South St. Louis County shopping center today, about a dozen seniors burned their AARP cards in protest of Medicare legislation that's now in Congress.
Electrician Tom Brewer, 57, said the proposal amounts to Medicare privatization, and AARP should not support it.
"I don't trust corporate America," Brewer said. "I've seen over the last several years that they're not trustworthy, and they're trying to put our prescriptions and health services into private corporations."
Brewer said the plan could drive up his insurance costs when he retires.
But AARP spokeswoman Anita Parran said most of the group's members support the proposal.
"This Medicare prescription plan is going to provide relief for a lot of people," Parran said. "It's going to alleviate a lot of burdens for millions of older adults and disabled Americans."
Under the plan, Medicare would pay for 75 percent of seniors' drug costs up to $2,250 a year.