How AARP is Working for You

Starting today, readers will find our Fighting for You Every Day blog on a newly revamped landing page. You’ll still find all the latest news about AARP’s advocacy on behalf of Americans 50-plus, but in a format that’s more visually appealing and easier to navigate.

The new layout allows us to offer more items on the page — with the freshest news appearing at the top. Posts will also be organized by topic, making it easier for you to find what you need, whether it’s a story about the latest affordable utilities win in your state or our work in Congress to protect Medicare and Social Security.

You can find Fighting for You at aarp.org/fightingforyou. We hope you’ll visit often and enjoy the new look!

As we take time to acknowledge the contributions of past and current older persons during Older Americans Month, a new law passed in 2022 is lowering the prices of prescription drugs and creating significant savings for people with Medicare.

Millions of older Americans are already benefitting from the new drug law, which requires Medicare to start negotiating the price of certain drugs, penalizes drug companies that increase their prices faster than inflation, caps seniors' annual out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs in Medicare Part D, limits cost-sharing for insulin in Medicare drug plans and extends financial assistance to help people with limited resources afford health insurance.

Learn more.

AARP is mobilizing its resources to stop measures in Congress that would overturn two federal rules to protect retirement savers from bad advice and set minimum staffing standards for nursing homes, a top AARP official said Thursday.

Speaking at a White House event to mark the end of Older Americans Month, AARP Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer Nancy LeaMond vowed the organization will fight “as hard now as we did over the years to get these [rules] over the finish line.”

Learn more.

Good oral health impacts more than a smile. It brings a host of health benefits as people age, including a lower risk of dementia, diabetes and heart disease, research suggests. But many older adults can’t afford regular dental care — or they live someplace where dentists are in short supply.

That’s why AARP is urging Congress to make dental care more affordable and available.

Learn more.

New protections are coming for Maryland consumers who want to shop around to find the best electricity and gas rates.

AARP-backed legislation signed into law by Gov. Wes Moore on May 9 puts new restrictions on retail, or third-party, energy suppliers.

Learn more.

AARP is fighting back against measures introduced in the U.S. House and Senate that aim to overturn a new federal rule requiring financial professionals to put retirement savers’ interests ahead of their own.

In a letter sent to every member of Congress, we urged federal lawmakers to protect the rule on behalf of constituents who are trying to build their retirement savings.

Learn more.

More Connecticut workers will be able to take paid time off work to take their mom to a doctor's appointment or care for themselves or a sick family member under an AARP-backed bill state lawmakers approved last week. The benefits will apply to nearly every worker in the state by 2027.

The new law, which Gov. Ned Lamont is expected to sign, extends the paid sick time requirement to companies with fewer than 50 workers. It also expands the definition of a family member to include close relatives other than a spouse or child, and close associates who are like family.

Learn more.

In less than two years, more than half of all states around the country have passed AARP-backed laws that protect consumers from unfair real estate agreements, in which brokers trade a small up-front cash payment for the future right to sell a person’s home.

Also known as homeowner benefit agreements, these contracts have been marketed to cash-strapped homeowners — particularly older adults — and can be binding for up to 40 years. That means if the homeowner or their heirs later sell the property using a different listing agent, they could be forced to pay a penalty far greater than the original cash payout — often up to 3 percent of the home price.

Learn more.