Advocacy

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.

** 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:

Texas lawmakers today finalized a measure that gives important new rights to millions of unpaid family caregivers. A priority for AARP, House Bill 2425 (companion to Senate Bill 1417) would help Texans when their loved ones go into the hospital and as they transition home. The legislation goes next to the governor’s desk.

AARP Texas Director Bob Jackson today praised the Legislature’s final passage of House Bill 3276. Filed by Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, HB 3276 would help protect consumers from surprise medical bills at freestanding emergency rooms. Earlier today, the Texas Senate approved the measure, sending it to the governor’s desk. Jackson said:

In Texas alone, there are more than 3.4 million unpaid family caregivers, many of whom provide complex medical and nursing tasks for their loved ones, and sometimes without adequate explanation or training. It’s not unusual for their tasks to include managing multiple medications, providing wound care, overseeing special diets, and operating high-tech medical equipment and monitors.