AARP’s 2017 budget priorities
Massachusetts elected officials prepared the Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) commonwealth budget proposal, a $40.5 billion spending plan which funds key priorities.
When will home care workers get ‘enough pay to stay?’
Picture a widowed elderly woman in her mid-80s. She needs help daily with bathing, dressing and toileting. But she has one more problem. She has been told that there are no workers available to come into her home to fill all the hours of care she needs.
This scenario is happening more and more across the commonwealth. The recruitment and retention of home care aides, home health aides, and care managers poses a real threat to the independence of many of our older neighbors. The image of a low-wage/high-turnover job makes it hard to find and keep home care workers. We must do better if we are to keep up with our fastest growing demographic - those over age of 60. We must give these workers "enough pay to stay."
Certificate in ‘Adulting’
By Marianne Delorey
Every generation creates its own lingo. Recently, Millennials have coined the word “Adulting” to mean “being responsible.” Many 20- to 30-year-olds are...
Male family caregivers: A population needing support
By Mike Festa, State Director, AARP Massachusetts
What’s your image of a caregiver? If you envisioned a middle-aged woman, one who is caring for an...
Trump’s ‘Skinny’ budget is all bones
By Al Norman
On March 16, President Donald Trump sent over his federal fiscal year 2018 Budget Blueprint to Congress. It was the president’s first...
Closing the ‘SNAP Gap’
By Mike Festa, State Director, AARP Massachusetts
Seniors on fixed incomes often have to make difficult choices between heating their homes, paying for essential medications,...
The health care nuclear option
By Al Norman
Congress and the White House are poised to dismantle health care protections in our state that may take decades to repair. It’s...
AARP’s 2017 legislative priorities
By Mike Festa, State Director, AARP Massachusetts
AARP is hard at work fighting for the interests of older adults across the country, including our renewed...
The State of the (elderly) Commonwealth
No governor since Mitt Romney in 2006 has mentioned "elders' in their State of the Commonwealth speech. On Jan. 24, Gov. Charlie Baker made reference to a yet-to-be filed executive order that would focus on older adults---but the details of the order are not known. We applaud the governor for mentioning older adults in his speech, and we are prepared to work with him on his executive order. But there are major fears among the elderly that need to be addressed, in light of rhetoric coming out of Congress and the White House.
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...