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Mike Sopchak, of North Branford, Conn., made phone calls. Though the 72-year-old personally hasn’t faced the consequences of the runaway costs of prescription drugs, he believes it is
important to get lawmakers to take action on the issue. “Health care costs are something that affects everybody at some point in their lives,” says Sopchak, a retired telephone company
outside plant engineer. “I see volunteering as an opportunity to make a difference.” For Nancy Koch, 72, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the issue of prescription drug costs is much more personal.
She has lived with rheumatoid arthritis for decades. In recent years, prescription drug price hikes have added to her difficulties. For example, she says one of her medications jumped from
being free to costing $145 per bottle in one year. “So, that medication I simply can't take because I absolutely cannot afford it now,” says Koch, a former nurse. “That's just one
of the meds that this has happened with.” As an AARP volunteer, Koch has repeatedly talked to her state and federal lawmakers over the past six years trying to convince them to support
Medicare price negotiation and other affordability issues. “The more people that hear what's going on in the real world, the better the chance that somebody will pay attention and try
to do something about it,” she says. “I still want to be this squeaky wheel to see some change.” CAPITOL HILL STRIKE FORCE TAKES CHARGE AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins, with AARP volunteers and
Sens. Amy Klobuchar, left, and Debbie Stabenow, right, calls on Congress to pass the bill to lower prescription drug prices at the U.S. Senate on July 27. Stephen Voss for AARP In
Washington, D.C., the most visible volunteers in the effort to pass health care legislation have been the 25 members of AARP’s Capitol Hill Strike Force. Dressed in red AARP T-shirts and
masks, these activists — most of whom are retirees — go to congressional hearings and other events to make sure that when legislators are making their decisions, they are mindful of the
lives that will be affected. “The Capitol Hill Strike Force represents AARP’s nearly 38 million members, and they are putting a face on the issue,” says Gigi Hart Bessicks, grassroots
manager for AARP. “The power of our membership is really the greatest power that we do have as an organization.” On July 27, as the Senate approached its vote on the budget package, 10
members of the Capitol Hill Strike Force attended an AARP press conference to reinforce how important this bill is for older Americans. When AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins took the lectern at the
news conference she was flanked by members of the strike force.