The future of Social Security is a priority issue for many voters across the country.
The interest on Social Security Trust Funds will run out of money by 2035 because the number of workers paying into the program is growing more slowly than the number of people receiving benefits. Without a change, Social Security benefits could be cut to 80% of what they pay out currently in a decade.
Cathleen Simlar, interim state director of AARP Idaho, said her group is holding a town hall Thursday, which can be streamed on the group's Facebook page or heard over the phone at 866-767-0637 at noon on Thursday.
"We're still in the big Baby Boom surge of people retiring and going on Social Security," Simlar pointed out. "This isn't going to lighten up any time soon."
About 370,000 Idahoans receive Social Security benefits, close to a fifth of the state's population. Simlar noted the benefit is the largest source of income for most of the people who receive them and beneficiaries also help put more than $6 billion back into the economy each year.
Simlar argued it is important for policymakers and leaders in Congress to remember Social Security is funded by workers themselves.
"They need to consider that for many Idahoans this is their primary income," Simlar emphasized. "People paid into this. It's their money. It's not an entitlement, it's not a benefit. It's their money."
Simlar acknowledged some solutions have been proposed, such as raising the wage cap for paying into Social Security, increasing the tax to pay for it and raising the retirement age. She stressed what is most important is people are involved in any changes.
"We're pushing that there'll be transparency in this process and in particular we want the public to have an opportunity to give input because this matters to people, this could really hurt people," Simlar contended. "The people in Idaho need to have their voice raised as the solutions are being discussed."
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Advocates for family caregivers are expecting federal lawmakers to propose a tax credit for the group, after President Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that he'd support one.
Wyoming caregivers can learn more at a webinar on Wednesday.
Wyoming's 58,000 caregivers in 2023 provided 54 million hours of unpaid family care, according to AARP Wyoming.
State Director Sam Shumway said the group has been working to get a form of financial help to caregivers for years.
"As they're struggling to hold down a job, take care of families and be a caregiver," said Shumway, "there may be some financial reprieve for them in the form of this Credit for Caring Act."
The 2024 Credit for Caring Act, which died in committee, would have given caregivers tax credits of up to $5,000 for 30 percent of the cost of long-term care expenses exceeding $2,000.
Shumway said he expects that a 2025 version will be introduced soon.
Details and registration for the February 12 webinar are available on the AARP Wyoming Facebook page.
According to AARP, caregivers on average spend more than $7,200 per year on expenses related to that care.
Shumway said he was "encouraged" by Trump's show of support and is optimistic that Wyoming's all-Republican delegation will follow suit.
"We feel like that right now we have a window of opportunity to work with our congressional delegation, particularly here in Wyoming," said Shumway, "to help them understand the importance of this for Wyomingites."
Unpaid Wyoming caregivers provided about $910 million in economic value in 2023, according to AARP Wyoming.
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Families of rural Iowans with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia face a crucial lack of mental health services and advocates are meeting with some rural residents today to assess their most important needs.
Iowa has only 26 geriatricians practicing in the state. The Alzheimer's Association said the state needs at least four times as many to meet the growing demand by 2050, and 32% more direct care workers for dementia patients by 2030.
Lauren Livingston, communications director for the Iowa chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, said the current provider shortage falls most heavily on rural Iowa, which has been declared a dementia care "desert."
"Most rural communities are unfortunately not lucky enough to have even a neurologist that is specialized in Alzheimer's disease and can help diagnose," Livingston pointed out. "Even with that first step of diagnosis, there isn't anywhere to even get a referral to a doctor who would know how to diagnose it or what the next steps were."
The Alzheimer's Association said 11% of Iowans age 65 and older are living with the disease. Today's online forum is designed to hear from affected rural residents about their most pressing concerns.
Livingston noted they hope to get good information from rural health care providers, families and caregivers about the types of support services missing in their communities.
"Then from there, we want to be able to put together more of a plan of how we can help in these rural communities and close that gap," Livingston emphasized.
Roughly 62,000 Iowans live with Alzheimer's disease, and another 100,000 are unpaid family caregivers. AARP Iowa is pushing for a measure in the state legislature to offer them a tax credit to help offset their out-of-pocket care expenses.
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What is the quality of Virginia's nursing homes? If you ask one advocate, he says "bad."
Jared Calfee, state advocacy director for AARP Virginia, said nursing home inspectors are "woefully" behind.
A possible legislative fix is a bill that would update what Calfee called the outdated fee structure for medical facilities.
The Virginia Department of Health would use those extra funds to increase recruitment and retention of inspectors. Calfee added understaffing can lead to worsening health for nursing home residents.
"What we know is that understaffing leads to negative outcomes, like pressure sores, falls, and ultimately sickness, and even death in a lot of cases," said Calfee. "And so the best thing that we can do for nursing home residents is ensure that there is adequate staff to provide quality care in our facilities."
The Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission finds that nearly 40% of nursing homes are in need of their biennial state licensing inspection.
And the Commonwealth has the sixth highest proportion of nursing homes that have not been inspected within two years.
Another budget proposal would include $3.5 million to train Virginians as certified nurse aides, or CNAs.
CNAs provide the bulk of assistance within nursing facilities. Calfee said this small budget ask could have big impacts for nursing home staff.
"This is a high-demand area where we badly need staff," said Calfee, "so a program like this could take a relatively small amount of money, and hopefully infuse the workforce with badly needed staff - to make sure that our nursing homes can staff adequately."
A Virginia Health Care Association survey in 2022 found that 93% of facilities in the Commonwealth have openings for CNAs.
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