How AARP is Working for You

We fought back this year when a Kansas utility company proposed an $8.3 million rate hike that would have increased the average resident’s natural gas bill by more than $5 a month.

Thanks in part to our efforts, residential customers will instead see their gas bills go up by just over $1 a month under a settlement agreement between Atmos Energy and the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC).

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While older adults give health care in the U.S. high marks for quality, they think it’s lacking in access, affordability and care for seniors. That’s according to a new AARP survey of more than 1,000 Americans 50 and older. 

Asked in November 2022 about their satisfaction with the quality of U.S. health care, half of respondents rated it good (36 percent) or very good (14 percent). But far fewer gave it high marks for accessibility and affordability — just 39 percent and 16 percent, respectively.

Our survey also found many older adults think the U.S. lags behind other developed countries in caring for the elderly. 

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We led dozens of advocates for family caregivers in thanking President Joe Biden on Thursday for his executive order bolstering support for them.

Biden’s sweeping April 18 order calls for a range of actions, including improved access to home-based care for veterans, enhanced job quality for long-term care workers, and new or expanded efforts to support caregivers of veterans or people with dementia.

But we urged him to continue to prioritize policies to address the many challenges caregivers face.

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We sent letters to congressional lawmakers this week urging them to pass legislation to remove the mandatory retirement age of 65 for commercial airline pilots.

Instead of an arbitrary retirement age, AARP supports requirements for testing and exams designed to measure a pilot’s ability and characteristics needed to do the job, we told leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

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As many as 20 million Americans may have lost money to fraud in 2021 and not realized they were victims — or were too embarrassed to admit it.

That’s the conclusion of AARP researchers after a follow-up survey of 890 people who were identified as victims of fraud based on their answers to an earlier survey. 

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We applaud Florida lawmakers for passing a series of bills to improve long-term care, strengthen protections against elder abuse and expand affordable housing options.

Our advocacy also helped block a bill that would have made it harder to sue Florida long-term care facilities following the wrongful death of a resident.

The wins come after AARP Florida stepped up its presence in the state capitol during the 2023 legislative session. More than 40 volunteers from across the state spent months advocating for issues important to older Floridians.

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Family members in Mississippi who need to hire a caregiver for their loved ones will soon have a new way to screen out people who have the potential to do them harm.  

A new AARP-backed law, which takes effect July 1, will create the state’s first vulnerable person abuse registry, similar to a sex offender registry. Those convicted of abusing, neglecting or exploiting a vulnerable person — including older adults unable to care for themselves and anyone living in a nursing home — must register with the state Department of Public Safety or face additional penalties. 

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We’re thrilled that Arkansas lawmakers and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders approved a series of bills to support military veterans in the state.

One bill allows veterans with smaller pensions to keep more of their retirement pay. State lawmakers also passed a bill to clarify eligibility for the Arkansas disabled veterans property tax exemption and to establish June 12 as a day to honor women veterans.

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