Drug Prices, Caregiving Top Legislative Agenda

The Legislature starts its 2020 session on Tuesday, Jan. 7, and AARP Mississippi is preparing a campaign to advocate for residents 50 and older.

On the agenda: promoting transparency in prescription drug costs and requiring manufacturers to report the reasons behind dramatic price increases. Another legislative goal is a family caregiver tax credit, to provide financial relief to the 470,000 caregivers in Mississippi who provide $4.7 billion in unpaid services annually.

AARP is also working to pass legislation to prevent financial exploitation of the elderly. Older people can be targets for shady mortgage products, fraud and theft by people trusted to handle their assets.

AARP Mississippi is training volunteers to lobby legislators. Get involved by emailing msaarp@aarp.org.