Thinking Policy

Healthy living is about building and sustaining healthy habits. Now in its second year, AARP’s Healthy Living initiative has launched programs of value to consumers of all ages. Part of what makes the programs unique, however, is that they equip people ages 50+ with information and tools they can use to help them manage changes that come with age.

The medical expense tax deduction helps millions of middle-income taxpayers of all ages confront extraordinarily high out-of-pocket health care costs. Through this tax deduction, the federal government offsets a portion of unreimbursed medical expenses. The deduction complements other elements of the national health care financing system, such as health insurance, relieving pressure on those who fell through its cracks.

Most people have heard of diabetes, but many people haven’t heard of prediabetes. [1] Prediabetes is a condition where blood sugar levels are high but not high enough to be considered type 2 diabetes, a disease where the body can’t properly use insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar.

Importing Age-friendly Innovations Blog Series

This is the second in a series of blog posts on Medicare’s annual wellness visit. You can also read a new AARP Public Policy Institute study on the topic.

You can’t change what you don’t measure. But good measurement can be hard to do, especially when it comes to unwieldy concepts like household financial security. After all, does a consumer’s bank account balance, income, credit score, or student loan debt define their financial wellbeing? Even taken together, these bits and pieces of data rarely paint a complete picture of a person’s financial life.

First in a series of blog posts on annual wellness visits and a new AARP Public Policy Institute study on the topic.

On March 27, a federal court blocked both Arkansas and Kentucky from conditioning Medicaid benefits on work or state-specified work alternative activities.[1] For Kentucky, it was a déjà vu decision: back in June of 2018, the same court blocked the state’s initial attempt to implement a similar policy. We discussed the first Kentucky case in an earlier post.

My grandfather spent a lifetime of service, from raising foster children, to sponsoring refugees, to rebuilding post-cold war Germany. A smart and compassionate man, it was in his 90s that my family discovered he was being financially exploited.