Denise Bottcher

Today AARP sent a letter urging all members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S Senate to pass a fix for Medicare beneficiaries who face much higher cost increases based on the anticipated announcement that Social Security beneficiaries would not receive a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2016. AARP’s letter specifically asks Congress to protect all Medicare beneficiaries from sharply increased out-of-pocket costs in light of the COLA announcement, requesting specifically that Congress “reduce...the impact of the sudden, sharp increases in the Part B premiums and deductible as soon as possible. Ideally, all Medicare beneficiaries should be held-harmless in the face of no Social Security COLA adjustment.”

The Advocate in Baton Rouge featured a letter to the editor from AARP Louisiana’s Advocacy Director Andrew Muhl today, about Bayou Choices and managed long-term care. You can read it on The Advocate’s site or below.

“She gave us life, helped raised our children and now I am only doing for her what she would do for any family member that needed help.”

Come see a free Girls’ Night Out screening of I’ll See You in My Dreams starring Blythe Danner and Sam Elliott. Meet AARP staff, volunteers, and other members during the event and be sure to stop by the AARP table at the theater to learn more about what AARP is doing in your community to help everyone 50+ to live life to the fullest.

AARP Louisiana has been working in the Hollygrove community of New Orleans for the past eight years, engaging hundreds of residents to build a stronger neighborhood.

AARP Louisiana Interim State Director Denise Bottcher issued the following statement today regarding the decision of the Department of Health and Hospitals to delay the implementation of Bayou Choices:

Do you wonder where the candidates in the race for Governor of Louisiana stand on critical issues affecting older adults, such as caregiving, health care and transportation?

WASHINGTON, DC — Family caregivers in Louisiana provided 615 million hours of care—worth an estimated $6.5 billion—to their parents, spouses, partners, and other adult loved ones in 2013, according to AARP Public Policy Institute’s new report, Valuing the Invaluable: 2015 Update. The total estimated economic value of uncompensated care provided by the nation’s family caregivers surpassed total Medicaid spending ($449 billion), and nearly equaled the annual sales ($469 billion) of the four largest U.S. tech companies combined (Apple, Hewlett Packard, IBM, and Microsoft) in 2013.

Come experience the joyous sounds of the Soulful Holiday celebration at Audubon Zoo on Saturday, December 13.

Kathleen “Kathy” Brewer of DeRidder, Louisiana has been selected by AARP, the nonprofit organization for people 50 and older, to receive the 2014 AARP Louisiana Andrus Award for Community Service -- the Association’s most prestigious and visible state volunteer award for community service.