AARP North Carolina

Let me introduce you to a family caregiver, Lisa from Hawaii. With the help of her sister, Lisa cared for her mother with Alzheimer’s disease — managing medications, cleaning the house, and handling any medical issues. They also managed her mother’s finances. Lisa shared: “It felt like our whole world was slowly falling apart. At the time we did not know much about the disease or how quickly it was going to debilitate her. My sister and I took responsibility of making sure that she was provided for.”

Statement from AARP North Carolina State Director Doug Dickerson in reaction to the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017:

RALEIGH, NC – North Carolina ranks 38 th overall when it comes to services available for our aging population, and AARP warns more must be done, at an accelerated pace, to meet changing demographic demands. Even worse, NC’s support for family caregivers, especially those in families with long-term diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson's, ranks just eight slots from the bottom. This, according to a new, comprehensive state-by-state Scorecard from AARP with support of the nation’s leading organizations behind quality long-term care, The Commonwealth Fund and SCAN Foundation.

This week North Carolina budget leaders head behind closed doors to negotiate differences between the State House and Senate versions of the budget. While the budget negotiations won’t be a shootout in the old west for now, several budget items will need to be negotiated before both chambers can approve a plan that must then be sent to the Governor for final approval before June 30 th.

By Sue Price Johnson

By Jim Buchanan

AARP is fighting to improve North Carolinians access to affordable health care, in their communities, by cutting through the bureaucratic red tape that prevents nurse practitioners—and all advanced practice registered nurses—from doing their jobs.

By Doug Dickerson, State Director, AARP North Carolina

Lorri’s Story

Prescription drugs can improve your life or even save it, yet roughly half of Americans don’t take medications as prescribed, leading to 125,000 deaths annually and an additional $100 billion in hospital costs.