AARP West Virginia Outlines 2025 State Advocacy Agenda

AARP West Virginia state leaders have detailed the organization’s legislative agenda for the 2025 West Virginia Legislature.

The organization, which represents a quarter-million older West Virginians, is focused on supporting caregivers, protecting older West Virginians against fraud and financial exploitation, improve financial security for all West Virginians, and addressing food insecurity and hunger in the Mountain State.

AARP West Virginia staff and volunteers are working closely with state leaders on legislative action affecting West Virginians 50-plus, which includes:

CAREGIVING

AARP is fighting to save time and money for West Virginia’s 250,000 caregivers, who provide $3 billion of unpaid care each year. Caregivers take responsibility to help their parents, spouses and other loved ones stay at home, managing medications, preparing meals, helping with bathing, feeding & dressing, providing transportation to medical appointments, and handling financial & legal matters. And most of the people doing all that unpaid work are also trying to juggle paying jobs too.

The physical, emotional & financial toll of caregiving is enormous, AARP is advocating for:

• A tax credit for caregivers who spend money out of their own pockets to support individuals aging in place, living in their homes and communities where they want to be.
• We support increasing the quality and supply of our health care workforce with commonsense reforms that allow health care professionals to administer care to the full extent of their education and training, expanding access to care.
• We will continue to defend the numbers of individuals served or eligible to receive Medicaid-based Home and Community Based Services (HCBS)
  

FRAUD, FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION AND FINANCIAL RESILIENCE

AARP has a long history of fighting fraud and financial exploitation through our state and federal advocacy, education and outreach.

Individuals must be protected from abuse, neglect, crime, and financial exploitation. Older adults can be especially vulnerable and may need extra safeguards.

We will advocate for legislation that preserves strong consumer protection and anti-fraud measures against identity theft, robocalls and telephone solicitations.


HUNGER AND FOOD INSECURITY

The share of older adults who are food insecure continues to grow. Rising food prices may resort in difficult trade-offs between food and other basic needs. This rise highlights the importance of ensuring that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can keep doing its job.

AARP supports SNAP Stretch, a program of the West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition that lets SNAP users buy more fruit and vegetables and support local farmers at the same time. SNAP Stretch’s innovative approach of doubling and tripling SNAP dollars spent at farmers markets, on-farm stands, mobile markets, CSAs, and local grocery stores for fruits and vegetables, not only encourages healthy eating habits among SNAP holders but also serves as a catalyst for local farmers and small businesses.


DIGITAL CONNECTIONS FOR OUR COMMUNITIES

AARP is fighting for West Virginians to have affordable, reliable high-speed internet access in the communities where they live and to have the skills, technology and capacity needed to succeed in today’s digital economy.

High-speed internet helps older West Virginians:

• Avoid isolation and remain independent as they age.
• Provides opportunity to connect with their children, grandchildren, and other family and friends.
• Allows older West Virginians to stay engaged and active through online learning and activities, including volunteering.

AARP supports the state’s continued investments to connect communities through the build out of our high-speed internet infrastructure, and advocates for the incorporation of consumer protections that do not shift costs or place an unfair burden on taxpayers or customers.


PROTECTING RETIREMENT INCOME

Retirement security in West Virginia doesn’t just matter to individual retirees, but to our state economy as a whole. West Virginia’s public sector retirees are facing increasing health care and prescription drug costs, along with rising utility bills.

AARP supports a cost-of-living adjustment that helps ensure the benefits earned over a lifetime of hard work do not erode over time due to inflation.


For the latest updates on AARP’s state advocacy work at the West Virginia Legislature, follow AARP West Virginia on Facebook and on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @AARPWV. The 60-day regular session of the West Virginia Legislature concludes on Saturday, April 12.