Caregiving

In downtown Austin, a hopeful message can be seen on a movie theater marquee. It reads: “IN ORDER FOR US TO BE ALL TOGETHER, FOR NOW WE MUST REMAIN APART.”

Latest AARP research attaches $41 Billion value to the estimated 2.9 Billion hours of unpaid care that family caregivers provided in 2021.

A bill filed this week in the Texas Senate would ensure that Texans taking care of a loved one released from a hospital or rehabilitation facility would receive caregiver information and training.

Texas Appleseed and AARP today released five “Managing Someone Else’s Money” guides, a toolkit for financial caregivers in Texas who manage money or property for those unable to do so for themselves. This interactive series of guides, in English and Spanish, is available in print and online at www.ProtectTheirMoneyTx.org.

Texas Sen. Cesar Blanco filed Senate Bill 1700, the Healthcare Expanded & Accessed Locally (HEAL Texans) Act. The bill expands health access by allowing full practice authority for nurse practitioners.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission recently announced that it is partnering with the Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities, AARP Texas and the Texas Association of Regional Council to work on projects to improve the lives of caregivers.

State Sen. Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills) today filed Senate Bill 1212, which makes crucial improvements to nursing home safety sought by advocates for nursing home residents.

Nursing homes in Texas are escaping accountability for hurting residents and jeopardizing their health, according to a new report by AARP Texas.

The second week of the Texas legislative session saw the unveiling of dueling budget proposals from House and Senate leaders who are starting negotiations over state spending billions of dollars apart and at odds over several key priorities. Both proposals fail to identify funding for a Lifespan Respite Program that’s considered invaluable to many unpaid family caregivers in Texas.

For the first time since AARP began publishing the Scorecard in 2011, more than half of Medicaid long-term care dollars nationwide for older adults and people with physical disabilities went to home- and community-based services instead of nursing homes and other institutions.