Community

By Kathy Black, Ph.D.

Florida property owners, listen up: The rules have changed on how you can get your home repaired after a hurricane or other natural disaster by letting a contractor deal directly with your insurance company.

Homeowners’ insurance policies usually cover the cost of removing a fallen tree from a home if the home is damaged. But as residents of North Florida learned after Hurricane Michael, trees or storm debris that don’t fall on a home may not be covered.

Florida lawmakers adopted a slew of healthcare bills that will help Florida consumers save on prescription drugs and gain easier access to their doctors. For ratepayers who get their electrical power from investor-owned utilities (FPL, Duke, TECO, Gulf Power, FPUC), lawmakers ignored calls from consumer groups, AARP Florida included, and pushed through legislation that will increase consumers’ monthly bills. We breakdown the top issues AARP Florida tracked.

AARP Florida issued the following statement Tuesday following the Florida Public Service Commission vote to approve a rate increase for Gulf Power to recoup the cost of Hurricane Michael damage to electrical power systems.

AARP Florida State Director Jeff Johnson welcomed passage of legislation allowing Florida law-enforcement officers to pull over drivers they see texting while driving as an important step toward making Florida safer for people of every age.

Tallahassee, Fla. – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins announced Tuesday that the State of Florida has joined the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities, a move hailed by AARP as a major step toward making Florida even more livable for people of every age.

AARP Florida, the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, and the Miami-Dade Age-Friendly Initiative invites your participation at the 4th Annual Age-Friendly Communities Sharing Symposium

AARP, the Florida Health Care Association, and LeadingAge Florida – three groups that don’t often share the same position on central issues – have forged the Coalition for Silver Solutions, committed to developing short- and long-term strategies to meet the health care needs of Florida’s aging population.

No one faces a steeper climb back to normal life than North Floridians age 50-plus.  With fewer years left to recover, often coping with health concerns and facing a loss of homes that sometimes were uninsured, Floridians age 50-plus are among the most vulnerable to storms.As they work to recover, AARP Florida will be with North Floridians 50-plus every step of the way.