Access to an employer-based, payroll-deduction retirement savings plan plays a key role in allowing people to save for the future. Yet nearly half of American workers, or about 56 million, do not have access to such a plan. To address this challenge, in recent years a growing number of states have…
In a recent AARP focus group, Malcolm (name changed for privacy), a 64-year-old man with health insurance through his employer and a preexisting condition, shared how over the course of a year, he received two low-balance medical bills he couldn’t afford to pay. The bills went to collection, which…
New AARP research finds that about half of American working adults, or about 56 million people, lack access to a payroll-deduction workplace retirement savings plan, making it much more difficult for them to save for retirement. Small business employees, workers with low-to-moderate earnings, and…
The Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) now under consideration in the Senate would drastically alter the Ohio Medicaid program. The proposed Senate bill would change the way the federal government currently funds Medicaid by limiting federal funding and shifting cost over time to both states and…
The recently released Senate bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), puts Medicaid on the chopping block. By limiting Medicaid cost growth to medical inflation through 2024 and general inflation from 2025 and beyond, the bill will lead to major, harmful reductions in both federal and state…
The just-released Senate bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), is very bad news for older adults. The bill would reduce financial assistance (premium tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies) and change rules on how much premiums can vary by age (age rating). As a result, people ages 50 to…
The Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) now under consideration in the Senate would drastically alter the Medicaid program. The proposed Senate bill would change the way the federal government currently funds Medicaid by limiting federal funding and shifting cost over time to both states and…
The proposed American Health Care Act (AHCA) would make significant changes to the Medicaid program, which serves as a critical safety net for millions of people who deplete their life savings and turn to Medicaid for assistance as their ability to care for themselves declines. The bill would…
When Eric Epstein, 56, a lawyer from New York, learned that his 83-year-old father, Bill, had fractured his right hip while vacationing in Utah, he was on the next plane. “I wanted to make sure he was getting quality care in an unfamiliar hospital,” Epstein recalls. When the doctors determined a…
Financial exploitation is an issue that demands financial institutions’ attention. Banks lose an estimated $1 billion (and rising) annually in deposits. Thieves especially target older Americans (those over 50), with good reason — these customers own two-thirds of all bank deposits. An estimated 1…
This is an exciting month for AARP’s Public Policy Institute. We’re set to release our third Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) State Scorecard Report on June 14, and this powerful tool is far more interactive and comprehensive than the 2011 and 2014 installments.
Most of us will need long-term services and supports (LTSS), either for ourselves or for our family members. However, most of us do not know about our options and how to pay for these services. That is why the LTSS State Scorecard — created by the AARP Public Policy Institute and funded by the Scan…