Health & Wellbeing

Although a fight is expected to break out between the General Assembly and the governor about the overall framework of the 2016/17 state budget, there are areas of agreement between legislators and the Administration. One of these areas of critical importance to older Pennsylvanians, is how revenues from the Pennsylvania lottery will be spent.

Over the past week, the talk of the town has been the winter blizzard that is set to hit tonight. Rumor is that Pennsylvania will get about 18 inches of snow, and have wind and snow drift. Schools are letting out early. Shopping center shelves are emptying out. People are taking precautions and you should be doing the same!

Staying cool during a blistering summer can mean the difference between life and death, as more Americans die from heat waves than all other natural disasters combined.

Pennsylvania Volunteers Head to Washington to Push for Better Retirement Investment Advice Standard

PA Hunger Rountable Report 2015

AARP Pennsylvania Volunteers Visit Capitol Hill to Urge Separate Social Security Debate, Press for Responsible Solutions to Strengthen Medicare

AARP is working to ensure that older adults who have lost their jobs and hard-working Pennsylvanians who are struggling to make ends meet can find the affordable health care they need. Accepting federal funds to expand Medicaid in PA will give these families the security of knowing they can get the health care they need and at the same time boost our economy, create jobs, and help keep the doors open at the hospitals that serve our residents. By expanding Medicaid, Pennsylvania can help those who have lost their health insurance receive coverage if their incomes are less than $15,000 (133 percent of the federal poverty level). For the first three years beginning in 2014, the federal government will pay the entire cost of the state's Medicaid expansion, with the government's match rate gradually dropping beginning in 2017, decreasing to 90 percent in 2020 and thereafter.

According to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Health Survey, there are nearly 122,000 households in Southeastern Pennsylvania that must reduce the size of meals or skip meals entirely, because they cannot afford to purchase adequate amounts of food. These statistics, among others, serve as a platform for AARP - in partnership with the AARP Foundation - to award several micro-grants to Philadelphia based community organizations aiding the costs of serving the vulnerable 50+ in the fight against hunger.

Governor’s Meeting with Secretary Sebelius Represents Positive Step Toward State Medicaid Expansion

Note: The following article by AARP State President Jim Palmquist is running in newspapers across PA.