Advocacy

Expanding access to affordable quality health care and fighting to protect consumers and vulnerable seniors are part of AARP’s legislative focus in 2014, AARP Florida State Director Jeff Johnson announced today.

“The Public Service Commission is charged with providing 1) a regulatory process that results in fair and reasonable rates, 2) ensuring that all entities that provide utility service comply with all appropriate requirements and 3) most importantly, appropriate regulatory oversight for consumers. The settlement brought before the Public Service Commission between Duke Energy and several organizations including the Office of Public Counsel and the Florida Retail Federation contains very complex issues, including costs associated with Duke’s botched repair of the Crystal River nuclear plant and the cancellation of the Levy County project. Once again, the Public Service Commission’s decision will likely end with utility customers footing the bill. In this case, the cost will be about $3.2 billion.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the eve of the 78th anniversary of the creation of Social Security, which provides an average monthly retirement benefit of $14,900 to 2.94 million Floridians, AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond issued the following statement:

St. Petersburg, Fla. – AARP Florida State Director Jeff Johnson issued the following statement today in the wake of the ouster of the second Florida Long-Term Care Ombudsman since 2011.

Daytona Beach, Fla. – AARP Foundation, AARP’s charitable affiliate, today announced a $25,000 grant to the Volusia County Council on Aging Meals on Wheels program. The AARP Foundation grant will help match a generous $100,000 challenge grant from a local donor to support Meals on Wheels, which provides needed food to homebound seniors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1jyeYxy5po&feature=c4-overview&list=UUrzT8tOAXbNTCBaB9f5_Mog[/youtube] Washington calls its plan a way to make the formula for Social Security annual cost-of-living increases “more accurate.” Stephen Kennedy just calls it “painful.”

Tallahassee, Fla. – AARP Florida State Director Jeff Johnson issued this statement Friday in reaction to the federal Health and Human Services’ Department decision to approve a state plan to transfer all Florida Medicaid patients needing acute health care into managed-care plans:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVRP-wnsaOY[/youtube]Washington calls it a “minor technical change” in Social Security. Here’s how minor Washington’s Chained CPI plan would actually be for Ken Reinhardt: $12,000 over the next 20 years.

Tallahassee, Fla. – AARP has filed a “friend of the court” brief in a state Supreme Court case challenging a decision by the state Public Service Commission (PSC) approving a contested settlement giving Florida Power & Light (FPL) a $354-million rate increase -- far greater than it even asked for in its petition.

Tallahassee, Fla. -- To help educate older Floridians on how your state legislators are voting, AARP Florida will be working in 2013 to make information on lawmakers’ votes easier and quicker to find. AARP will be tracking votes on key issues including a ban on texting while driving, curbing annuities fraud, cracking down utility companies' extra fees for nuclear power plants that may never be built, and expanding affordable health-care coverage to uninsured Floridians of modest means.