The SNAP snafu
On April 9, the Mass Home Care Association and Mass Councils On Aging, sent a joint letter to the head of the state’s Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) about mismanagement of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as Food Stamps.
Clean repeal, skinny repeal. It all came to nothing
How often do we get to see elected officials voting on Nothing?
That’s what it came to in Congress the other day. The U.S. Senate could not muster the votes to even discuss “repealing and replacing” the Affordable Care Act. But they exerted more pressure on their members, and finally managed to vote 51-50 to begin to debate some version of repealing the Affordable Care Act. They came up with a replacement bill that would have allowed insurance companies to offer cheap, “stripped down” policies that did not meet federal standards. But that bill lost by a vote of 43 to 57. With conservatives and moderates balking at the “replacement” bill, the leadership turned to a new option: repeal Obamacare. No replacement, just what they called a “clean repeal.”
Brains and potatoes
One day in a bookshop, I overheard a six-year-old girl and her four-year-old brother discussing which is better, movies or books. He said movies. She said books. “Movies,” she explained, “turned your brain into a potato.”
Hearing aid tax credit before legislators
By Dr. Robert Mario
Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas) urged a gathering of 120 supporters of the Hearing Aid Tax Credit to help him work for...
Sometimes you get sunflowers
One raw, late-winter day many years ago, arborists took down a grand, ancient pine in our yard. I don’t remember all of our reasons for this but, once it was cut, signs of internal rot made it clear that the tree would have come down anyway, probably tumbling huge limbs onto somebody’s house. The decision to cut it down had been a good one.
The payroll tax holiday should end
By Al Norman
I think Congress has it totally wrong on the issue of the Social Security payroll tax. The House and the Senate both...
Majority of LGBT adults concerned about social support and discrimination in long-term care
By Mike Festa, State Director, AARP Massachusetts
When it comes to aging-related concerns, older LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) adults worry most about having...
Red eyes can have many causes, treatments
By Dr. Jean E. Keamy
Many people assume that red eyes mean they have an infection causing conjunctivitis. This may not be the case. There...
Middle Name: Chocolate?
By Janice Lindsay
Answer this question: In a parking lot, you stroll past a brand new Mercedes. Glancing in the passenger-side window, you see an...
Clinton Youth Council on Aging supports Elder Abuse Awareness
June 15 is the eighth annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. The event was created by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder...
