Advocacy

AARP Iowa is backing two proposals to provide better protection against home-repair fraud.

AARP Iowa relies on its Grass Roots Election and Advocacy Team (GREAT) volunteers to be the boots on the ground across the state, telling lawmakers about legislation and policy concerns.

After five years of working to pass legislation to support Iowa’s 317,000 family caregivers, volunteer advocates from AARP Iowa along with other partnering statewide organizations, celebrated their persistence and dedication on Tuesday when Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds inked her signature to the 2019 Iowa CARE Act, Senate File (SF) 210 at a bill-signing ceremony at the Iowa State Capitol. The legislation becomes law on July 1, 2019.

The Iowa House this morning passed the 2019 Iowa CARE Act (SF 210) by a vote of 96-3. With the bill unanimously passing the Iowa Senate earlier in the week, the legislation now moves to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law. The CARE (Caregiver Advise, Record and Enable) Act outlines commonsense steps to help Iowa’s more than 317,000 family caregivers when their loved one goes into the hospital and as they transition home.

AARP Iowa has released the results of a new statewide caregiving survey, showing that 96 percent of family caregivers in the state believe it’s important to receive instruction on medical tasks they will need to provide for loved ones at home after discharge from the hospital.

Despite the inclement weather outside, the Iowa State Capitol was turned into a sea of red vests and red hearts this morning as more than 60 AARP Iowa volunteer activists and a large coalition of healthcare advocates from across the state rallied for support of the 2019 Iowa CARE Act (SF 210/HF 340), a common-sense bill to help Iowa’s 317,000 family caregivers. The CARE (Caregiver Advise, Record and Enable) Act was passed earlier this month in the Senate Human Resources Committee and is awaiting the vote of the full Senate. The bill passed a House Subcommittee, led by Rep. Cecil Dolecheck (R-24) earlier today.

Only 22 percent of Des Moines streets are rated in “good condition” by national standards, and the vast majority of city streets are on the verge of requiring major maintenance. This is one of the many data points that city residents will learn about over the next three weeks through an AARP Iowa postcard campaign, set to hit mailboxes today, which highlights how Public Measure “A,” the local option sales tax, will improve the city’s infrastructure.

Legislation would help Iowa’s 317,000 family caregivers

Read our first AARP IOWA e-NEWS - January 2019

AARP Iowa has released the results of a statewide caregiving survey showing that 96 percent of current family caregivers in Iowa believe it is ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ important that they receive instruction on medical tasks they need to provide for their loved one at home upon being discharged from the hospital. The survey of 800 registered voters age 40+ across the state also showed that Iowans are overwhelmingly in support of three measures in the Iowa CARE (Caregiver Advise, Record and Enable) Act, which outlines commonsense steps to help Iowa’s more than 317,000 family caregivers when their loved one goes into the hospital and as they transition home.