AARP Utah

Utah is known for its fabulous skiing, beautiful national parks (five of them, the most in the country) and clean living, but it's also recognized as one of the best states for successful aging according to an index released by the Milken Institute on November 18. Provo was ranked third and Salt Lake City was ranked fifth of 352 U.S. cities in their index, which realizes that most Americans want to age at home and in place as opposed to moving somewhere else to retire.

Family caregivers in the U.S. spend an estimated 30 billion hours per year caring for older family and friends. That’s about $522 billion in care, according to a new Rand Corp. study, as measured by valuing the time caregivers have sacrificed in order to be able to provide care.

AARP Utah is proud to sponsor the Huntsman World Senior Games--the largest sports event for those 50+ in the world with athletes competing from all 50 states and 21 nations. This year, 10,745 competitors gathered in St. George, Utah where the Games are held to compete in dozens of sports from archery to volleyball. There are 2500 volunteers who make the Games run smoothly in what is now the 28th year of the Games. The Games opened on October 5 and will close on October 18.

In its "50 Heroes, 50 States" list, MONEY magazine selected AARP Utah Area Coordinator Art Sutherland to be Utah's representative as a person doing creative and extraordinary work to help the finances of others in their state. Art was nominated by Coalition of Religious Communities Director Linda Hilton and AARP Utah Communications Director Laura Polacheck for his outstanding work on predatory lending issues in the state.

Medicaid expansion is still a hot potato issue in Utah, with the Utah Legislature failing to agree what if any expansion should occur in the state for the program. Medicaid is a federal program run by the states that provides health care coverage to the lowest income Americans. In order to qualify in Utah, you not only have to be low income, but you must also fall into a category of eligibility such as being a pregnant women, a child, a senior or disabled. Unfortunately, there are many lower-income adults and parents in Utah who don’t qualify for coverage because they don’t fit into one of the categories. They also don’t qualify for a subsidy on the new health insurance marketplace because they don’t earn enough. These roughly 57,000 Utahns fall into the “coverage gap” and would benefit from a Medicaid expansion.

(Midvale, UT) Utah ranks 39 th overall among the 50 states and the District of Columbia when it comes to meeting the long-term care needs of older residents, indicating more must be done, at an accelerated pace, to improve long-term supports and services in the state. This, according to a new, comprehensive state-by-state report, Raising Expectations 2014: A State Scorecard on Long-Term Services and Supports for Older Adults, People with Physical Disabilities, and Family Caregivers Scorecard from AARP with support of the nation’s leading organizations behind quality long-term care, The Commonwealth Fund and SCAN Foundation.

Salt Lake City is a relatively safe place to walk, ranking 33rd out of 51 major metro areas in a report issued by the National Complete Streets Coalition and Smart Growth America. But more can be done to improve pedestrian safety in the city and in Utah.

By Elaine Ryan, Vice President of State Advocacy and Office Integration, AARP

When Are You Over the Hill? Try Age 24

Biologic drugs are often used to treat health conditions that affect older populations, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Derived from living organisms, biologics have an estimated average cost of $35,000 a year — far more than traditional, chemically derived drugs.