AARP Iowa

AARP Iowa State President Chuck Betts has announced three new Executive Council members for 2018—Brena Corona of West Des Moines, Judi Pierick of Des Moines, and Phil Tetzloff of Marshalltown. The AARP Iowa Executive Council is a team of volunteers from across Iowa who provide leadership to support the implementation and execution of AARP priorities statewide.

We invite you to join AARP in helping Iowans learn more about Medicare benefits by volunteering for the Iowa Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP)*. SHIIP is a free health insurance counseling service that helps Medicare-eligible Iowans with their Medicare and health insurance questions and problems.

As state lawmakers near a key deadline, the 2018 legislative session’s first funnel of February 16, AARP leaders and activists descended on the State Capitol this morning for the Association’s annual lobby day, urging lawmakers to pass the 2018 Iowa CARE (Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable) Act. The bill (HF 2289/SSB 3123), with no cost to the state or taxpayers, would provide vital support for Iowa’s more than 317,000 family caregivers who help their older parents, spouses and other loved ones live safely and independently at home.

When Irene Olson was unexpectedly discharged from the hospital on a wintery Saturday afternoon after a short stay following aortic aneurism surgery, she phoned her daughter Sue, 175 miles away in Ames, telling her to come and pick her up. With minimal information from hospital staff regarding the discharge, Sue drove five hours through blizzard conditions. Arriving at the hospital, Sue’s mother was waiting in a wheelchair to be taken home. No instruction was provided to Sue on how to administer her mother’s medications or how to tend to a wound that remained from the recent surgery.

Beginning February 1 and continuing through April 17, AARP Foundation is providing free tax assistance and preparation through its Tax-Aide program. AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, celebrating its 50th year, is the nation’s largest free tax assistance and preparation service. Since its inception, the program has served more than 50 million taxpayers.

As state lawmakers near a key deadline, the 2018 legislative session’s first funnel of February 16, AARP Iowa is urging lawmakers to pass the 2018 Iowa CARE (Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable) Act. The bill (SSB 3123), with no cost to the state or taxpayers, would provide vital support for Iowa’s more than 317,000 family caregivers who help their older parents, spouses and other loved ones live safely and independently at home.

Join our online Q&A sessions for tools for keeping your 2018 healthy resolutions all year

In 2018, AARP Iowa is again working with lawmakers, advocates, volunteers and members to urge passage of the Caregiver Advise, Record and Enable (CARE) Act, a commonsense policy that increases information, education and support for Iowa’s more than 317,000 family caregivers. A 2015 survey found that 50 percent of Iowa caregivers are left out of hospital discussions about patient care and receive little or no instruction about tasks they will have to perform, such as wound are and medication management, at home after the patient is discharged.

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