Health & Wellbeing

Caring for a parent, spouse, or other loved one can be a 24/7 job that is emotionally, physically and financially difficult. That’s why AARP works tirelessly to support family caregivers, striving to make your big responsibilities a little bit easier.

The legislative session that begins Jan. 22 is only 45 days long. AARP Utah is prepared to hit the ground running to advocate on behalf of family caregivers, retirees and other adults 50-plus. AARP staff and volunteers will be at the Capitol every day.

It has been a whirlwind legislative session with a lot happening but as of last night it has come to a close. I want to thank you and all of the other great AARP advocates who stayed informed, got engaged, and made their voices heard to their legislators. I can’t stress enough that without your involvement, we could not do the work we do!

By LaRee Jones, AARP Area Coordinator

Social Security Turns 80, Loved by Americans of All Ages

Guess what’s turning 50? For many AARP members who know that milestone well, it’s a program that is invaluable for their health and financial independence. Medicare turned 50 on July 30. Former President Harry S. Truman received the first Medicare card immediately after President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare into law in 1965, and since then it has helped redefine “real possibilities” for many Americans, often freeing them from the fear of devastating medical bills that could jeopardize their individual and economic survival.

AARP applauds the bipartisan action taken on July 16, 2015 on S. 192, the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA) introduced by Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) with Senators Richard Burr (R-NC), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT). The Senate passed the bill the week that the OAA celebrated its 50 anniversary of providing invaluable services to older adults.

Utah Family Caregivers Provide $4.15 Billion

Notalys LLC released its report, Expanding Utah's Health Insurance Options today at a press briefing at the Utah State Capitol, outlining the differences between two plans that were under consideration by the Utah legislature during the last session. Governor Herbert's Healthy Utah plan was passed by the Utah Senate, and Utah Cares was passed by the Utah House of Representatives. Because no agreement was reached on how to cover the more than 50,000 low-income Utahns who currently fall into a health insurance coverage gap--making too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to qualify for health insurance subsidies--a committee of House and Senate leaders, the Governor Herbert, and Lt. Governor Spencer Cox set July 31 as the deadline for coming up with a plan to address this population.

In a 6-3 decision issued Thursday, June 25, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of King v Burwell that federal subsidies for people to buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act (Act) are constitutional. The issue in the case was whether subsidies would only be allowed if the subsidies were given through exchanges that the states set up themselves. Because 34 declined to set up their own exchanges and defaulted to the federal exchanges instead, the question was whether the provision of subsidies through the federal exchange was authorized by the Act. According to Utah Policy, approximately 87 percent of enrollees in the federal exchanges receive subsidies to buy health insurance, or about 6.4 million people according to the Obama administration. In Utah, 67 percent of Utahns who use the federal exchange will be able to keep their subsidies.