How AARP is Working for You

AARP is bringing its AgeTech Summit back to CES 2024 (formerly the Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas next week to spotlight how technology and artificial intelligence can help older adults live longer, better and more independently.

AARP launched the AgeTech Summit in 2023, and this year will continue to help startups and organizations recognize the benefits of developing products focused on the wants and needs of older adults. At this year’s conference, which runs Jan. 9-12, we’ll highlight ways AI-driven technology can help detect falls, improve brain health, prevent loneliness, manage chronic health conditions and more.

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When Hurricane Ian slammed Florida’s west coast in 2022, roughly two-thirds of those who died were 65 and older. Older adults were also more likely than younger residents to die in a spate of other natural disasters around the country in recent years, from wildfires in Northern California and Hawaii to the “Big Freeze” in Texas.

AARP wrote to federal lawmakers Dec. 13 in support of legislation that aims to address the disproportionate impact of natural disasters on the safety, health and economic well-being of older adults, including those with disabilities.

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Older adults in nursing homes often suffer disproportionately higher rates of mental health illnesses and cognitive disorders – including anxiety, depression and dementia. But nursing home staff often aren’t trained to tend to the behavioral and mental health needs of all residents.

AARP is backing federal legislation that would close that gap by allowing clinical social workers to provide a wider range of services in nursing facilities and bill for them under Medicare Part B.

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Loneliness isn’t just bad for your mental health. Research shows feeling isolated can put you at higher risk for a host of physical ailments – from heart disease and stroke to diabetes, infections and dementia. The U.S. Surgeon General warned this year that social disconnection can shorten your life about as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

It’s also costly for taxpayers. A lack of social contacts among older adults is associated with an additional $6.7 billion in Medicare spending annually, according to a 2017 AARP study.

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We applaud New York Gov. Kathy Hochul for enacting into law an AARP-backed bill designed to prevent discrimination against LGBTQ+ residents in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

The law prohibits facilities and their staff from making discriminatory room assignments, admissions, transfer or discharge decisions based on a resident’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status.

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AARP Foundation lawyers have joined a pending class action charge against social media giant Meta, alleging that technology the company uses to decide what job advertisements show up on Facebook discriminates against women and older job seekers.

REAL Women in Trucking (RWIT), a group representing female truck drivers, filed the charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in December 2022 against Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms. It alleges that the algorithm the company employs to target ads to its social media users steered some job ads away from women and older workers, a violation of federal employment laws.

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More than half of older workers say they’ve been forced out of a job before they intended to retire, and nearly a quarter say they’ve been passed over for a promotion or career advancement opportunities because of their age, according to research by AARP and others.

AARP wants that to change, which is why we wrote to lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives this month endorsing the bipartisan Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act (POWADA) of 2023.

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States plan to invest $37 billion in federal money to assist family caregivers, build up the direct care workforce and help older adults and people with disabilities remain in their homes as they age, the White House announced Dec. 11.

New data released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) outlines how states are planning to use funding for home- and community-based services available to them under the AARP-supported American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which was signed into law in 2021.

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