Advocacy

On Friday, September 11, the Alabama House passed a General Fund budget that includes a 9% cut to the Alabama Department of Senior Services (ADSS). This deep cut to ADSS will have devastating consequences for Alabama’s seniors and their families. ADSS provides critical services for seniors under the Medicaid waiver program, including meals on wheels, prescription assistance, home health aides, and respite care for caregivers. Without these vital support services, many at-risk seniors will be unable to remain in their homes, where more than 90% would prefer to stay. Instead, many could be forced into institutional care.

With the Alabama Legislature going into a second special session today, AARP Alabama has joined more than 200 organizations, health care providers, and faith-based groups and churches across our state in urging the Legislature to find an equitable solution to the General Fund budget deficit. AARP Alabama has been particularly focused on fighting potential cuts to services that are critically important to older Alabamians and their families.

AARP Alabama will host a tele-townhall on Wednesday, September 2 at 10 AM CDT on the topic of the General Fund budget crisis. Joining us will be Governor Bentley's Chief of Staff, Seth Hammett; Christy Cain, Executive Director of the advocacy group Alabama Children First; and Jim Carnes from Alabama Arise.

Contact: Jamie Harding

The Alabama Legislature has proposed budget cuts as high as 50% to home- and community-based services (HCBS) for the elderly and homebound. These services include: prescription assistance, meals on wheels, home health aides, personal care assistants, respite care, and other critical services.

You’ve w orked hard to save for retirement and you deserve a financial advisor who works just as hard to protect what you’ve earned. Right now, loopholes in the law allow bad-actors in the financial industry to provide retirement savings “advice” based on what’s best for their pocketbook, not yours. The result? They can recommend investments with higher fees, riskier features, and lower returns because they earn more money, even if those investments are not the best choice for you. Bad advice is wrong, and it is costing Americans up to $17 billion per year.

Contact: Jamie Harding

Contact: Jamie Harding

AARP’s chapters in Alabama will be in full swing this fall, providing opportunities for community service and social activities. Chapters are the strategic link between members and communities around our state and AARP’s programs and activities in Alabama. And members may also have the opportunity to meet their local elected officials to share opinions on issues that matter to their community.

Issues Include Bipartisan Older Americans Act, Medicare, Age Discrimination, Transportation Safety and More