AARP Texas

By Gabrielle Wilkosz

By Laura Tillman

Texas ranks 35 th when it comes to meeting the long-term care needs of older residents and people with disabilities, and AARP warns more must be done, at an accelerated pace, to meet changing demographic demands. Specific areas of concern in Texas include the percent of high-risk nursing home residents with pressure sores, as well as the percent of nursing home residents who are inappropriately receiving an antipsychotic medication. 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.

AARP Texas is proud to announce that three new laws, already signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott, will help protect financially vulnerable Texans. The news measures were strongly endorsed by AARP, which worked closely with lawmakers of both parties to ensure their passage.

Many family caregivers manage money or property when a loved one cannot. AARP Texas and the advocacy group Texas Appleseed have released a tool kit that can help caregivers safeguard their relatives’ assets and avoid unintended conflicts of interest.

** High-Priority Nursing Home Quality Legislation Approved **

As Texas lawmakers near the end of the 2017 legislative session, AARP Texas Director Bob Jackson issued the following statement:

Texans have reason to cheer a significant act of progress out of the legislative session. Late Tuesday, Governor Greg Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 507, which bolsters patient protections against surprise medical billing.

Telemedicine – or telehealth – could soon take firmer hold in Texas under legislation recently sent to the governor that would help patients meet with physicians via smartphone, tablet or computer.

The following is a statement by AARP Texas Director Bob Jackson applauding the passage of HB 3921 by the Texas Senate today, a measure which would improve the reporting of financial exploitation targeting older Texans and would give new tools to banks and securities firms to place a temporary hold on suspicious transactions. Jackson said: