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National Aging Coalition pushes to bring back House Aging Committee in DC – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues In 1992, aging advocacy groups fought unsuccessfully to keep the House Select Committee on Aging (HSCoA) from being eliminated. The House had pulled the plug on funding for the HSCoA as a cost-cutting measure and to stream-line the legislative process at the end of the 102nd Congress without much notice in…
Read MoreBill would (re)create a RI Department of Healthy Aging – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues (This article has been updated) There are new efforts on Smith Hill to transform the state’s Office of Healthy Aging (OHA) into a department making it far more visible and effective as an advocate for the state’s growing senior population. H. 7616, introduced by Rep. Lauren H. Carson (D-District 75, Newport), would expand the office in the Department of Human Services…
Read MoreAARP Rhode Island calls on Congress to act on lowering high drug costs – Herb Weiss
by Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues On the day before the Washington, DC-based AARP’s March 8th launch of its new ad campaign showing the impact of Congress’s failure to act on prescription drug prices, AARP Rhode Island State Director Catherine Taylor, Volunteer State President Marcus Mitchell and Volunteer Lead Federal Liaison Dr. Phil…
Read MoreWorld issues pushed nursing home reform to the side in State of the Union. But it’s there – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging More than a week ago, President Joe Biden, with Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, sitting behind him in the House Chamber in the United States Capitol, delivered his first State of the Union Address. Harris and Pelosi made history marking the first time two…
Read MoreThe crafting of Rhode Island’s first State Plan on Caregiving – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues Rhode Island has the distinction of having one of the highest percentages of adults aged 85 and over in the country. In 2017, out of a population of 1,060,00 there are more than 136,000 caregivers providing 114 million hours of care, says AARP Rhode Island. More Rhode…
Read MoreRI State Budget must address long term care staffing crisis – Herb Weiss
by Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues As Rhode Island and states throughout the country loosen COVID-19 mask restrictions with the number of new coronavirus cases dropping by more than 75% since the highs in mid-January, and hospital admissions and death rates declining, AARP Rhode Island warns that now is the time to take…
Read More“Living Apart Together” couples need to discuss caregiving, health issues with family, each other – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues With divorce rates soaring since the 1990s, and aging baby boomers 50 and older having doubled in number, this trend, along with longer life expectancy and those becoming widowed, has resulted in many older adults forming new partnerships later in life. Researchers call this new phenomenon, “Living…
Read MoreMedicare slow to fix equity issue for seniors’ access to at-home COVID test kits – Herb Weiss
by Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues Last month, COVID-19 home test kits were made available in a variety of ways – but, for Medicare recipients, it was a different story, being forced to go thru a different purchasing and payment process than those having private insurance, or no insurance. That process required the oldest…
Read MoreSenate Aging Committee: Seniors urged to prepare for making financial decisions – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues Over two weeks ago, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Tim Scott (R-SC), Chairman and Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, urged seniors and people with disabilities to make a New Year’s resolution to prepare for anticipated financial decisions. The hearing highlighted the…
Read MoreCalls for Rhode Island to become more “Age Friendly” – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues On Aug. 3, 2020, The Decade of Healthy Aging 2020-2030 proposal was endorsed by the 73rd World Health Assembly. It was presented to the U.N. General Assembly Dec. 14, 2020, (Resolution 75/131), leading to the proclamation of a U.N. Decade of Healthy Aging (2021-2030). The four-page Resolution expressed concern…
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