AARP Ohio
AARP is working to improve the lives of all Ohioans.
Ohio
— Unfair legislation forces all Ohio utility customers to pay $300 million increase for failing business AARP State Director Barbara A. Sykes announced AARP’s opposition to House Bill 6 that would saddle all Ohioans with a new, unfair and unnecessary annual $300 million nuclear bailout tax. Based on the legislation, one company, First Energy, stands to receive the majority of the newly created $300 million Clean Air Program Fund. “After the five previous attempts to bailout their failing business on the …
— By Sarah Hollander Retirement gave Virgil Reed time to volunteer. It also gave him a purpose. When Reed left his longtime career as a Time Warner Cable executive in 2009, he shopped for health insurance for his wife, high school daughter and college son. All three were turned down for preexisting conditions. “I could not find private insurance for them at any price in Ohio,” Reed said. When AARP Ohio contacted Reed to see if he would like to become …
— Voters age 50 and older were the deciding factor in last year’s midterm elections, according to the National Election Pool Exit Poll results. The findings confirmed that 50-plus voters made up the majority of voters 62% in Ohio and 56 percent nationally. Candidates who ignored older voters, Ohio’s most powerful voting group, paid a price on Election Day. Older voters held candidates accountable for not finding common ground on the issues that matter to them and their families. What they …
— By Sarah Hollander Nurse practitioner Sara Pease, 41, wanted to serve her rural community by helping open a combined primary care and mental health practice in East Liverpool five years ago. When Calcutta Family Care’s medical director left abruptly in 2017, with no successor, Pease was left scrambling to secure the fate of thousands of patients. She and the remaining three nurse practitioners couldn’t provide care without state-mandated oversight by a doctor. Finding a physician wasn’t easy. When she did, …
— It’s been just about two weeks since I attended the AARP Ohio 2018 Volunteer Summit and I’m still feeling the excitement. A fellow Cincinnati volunteer had to convince me to make the trip and I’m glad she did. I’ve always known that AARP was a big organization with important goals. Over the past year, I’ve witnessed how our local events and activities encourage older men and women to live well and enjoy life. The Summit reinforced my sense of connection …
— By Sarah Hollander Bruce and Ann Williams are both 70. But with the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, Ann, a retired speech pathologist and preschool director, has mentally reverted to early childhood. Bruce has served as her full-time caregiver for several years, taking on household chores and personal care at their home in Commercial Point, south of Columbus. “Basically, I’m her everything,” Williams, a retired engineer and inventor, said. “Caregivers like me are essentially running a nonprofit care facility out of …
— Today, in Ohio, 2 million people over 65 and individuals with disabilities are covered by Medicare for their health care. Before President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare into law 53 years ago this month, fewer than 25 percent of older Americans had meaningful health insurance. Even a minor illness could propel them into bankruptcy or send them into a life of poverty. Thankfully, the deal that was struck with Americans in 1965 – pay into Medicare throughout your working life and …
— Americans 50+ are the nation’s most powerful voting bloc – and it’s important we stay that way. The power of older voters is real, but many of them don’t vote in most midterm elections. In the 2016 Presidential Election, 2.9 million Ohioans age 50+ voted but in the 2014 Midterm Election, only 2.1 million Ohioans age 50+ voted. That’s a difference of almost 900,000 drop-off 50+ voters. AARP wants to change that. The AARP Ohio state office is recruiting volunteers …
— AARP Ohio aims to keep members informed about issues that affect them and their families, such as caregiving, utility costs, health care and tax reform. AARP also offers opportunities for members to take action and make their voices heard. That’s especially important in an election year when Ohio voters will choose a governor and U.S. senator. As a nonpartisan organization, AARP does not endorse candidates but does take a stand on issues. Members who want to get involved can sign …
— By Sarah Hollander Soon after Mary Relotto moved her 90-year-old mother into her Columbus home last fall, she realized she would need help. While family members can perform nursing tasks for a loved one at home, state regulations restrict the tasks that hired caregivers can provide. Home health aides can assume many tasks, but nurses must perform others, including the administration of medications. Relotto, a 52-year-old business consultant, said she wanted more flexible options. “If I’m the responsible party, then …