AARP Pennsylvania

10/12/21

From rural bike paths to urban gardens, the AARP Community Challenge program is funding quick-action projects this year in five Pennsylvania areas.

Statement from AARP Pennsylvania Manager of Advocacy Teresa Osborne

Every day, nearly 1.6 million Pennsylvanians perform a great labor of love: caring for parents, spouses, adult children with disabilities, friends, and other loved ones so they can remain in their homes – where they want to be. They manage medications, provide transportation, prepare meals, handle finances, perform complex medical tasks, and much more.

AARP has launched a three-week television and radio advertising campaign urging U.S. Senators to support allowing Medicare to use its power to negotiate drug prices with drug manufacturers. The seven-figure investment highlights negotiation as a critical step toward lowering prescription drug costs for all Americans, especially seniors who on average take between four and five medications each month and have a median annual income of just over $26,000.

AARP has a rich history of reaching diverse audiences across Pennsylvania, especially when it involves how we work in communities throughout the commonwealth. As the pandemic changed the very fabric our society for all, many of our vendors were under the same stay-at-home mandates, including restaurants.

Today, AARP Pennsylvania announced five Pennsylvania organizations will receive 2021 Community Challenge grants – part of the largest group of grantees to date with $3.2 million awarded among 244 organizations nationwide. Grantees will implement quick-action projects to promote livable communities by improving housing, transportation, public spaces, civic engagement, and connection with family, friends, and neighbors with an emphasis on the needs of the 50-plus. Many of this year’s awards support revitalizing communities adversely impacted by the pandemic and include a focus on diversity, inclusion, and disparities.

Attendees heard from expert panelists regarding life planning documents

AARP Pennsylvania State Director Bill Johnston-Walsh released the following statement in response to the Wolf Administration’s proposed nursing home regulations.

Is your 65th birthday coming up? You know what that means: It’s time to prepare for Medicare. Get ahead of the game with answers from our free webinar on Medicare, including when to enroll, what’s covered and where to find help along the way.