Those of you age 55 or older in Colorado do qualify for discounts on your auto insurance.

You’re invited to an Issue Forum to discuss important issues affecting Coloradans.

You’re invited to an Issue Forum to discuss important issues affecting Coloradans.

You’re invited to an Issue Forum to discuss important issues affecting Coloradans.

You’re invited to an Issue Forum to discuss important issues affecting Coloradans.

You’re invited to an Issue Forum to discuss important issues affecting Coloradans.

Many seniors qualify for extra income from government assistance programs but are not getting it. The AARP Colorado State Office is organizing forums in Denver, Pueblo, and Alamosa to assist Latinos and other AARP members by providing information on public benefits available to the 50 plus population. Representatives from state and federal programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and the Veterans Administration will be present to provide information. The events will be an excellent opportunity for AARP members and the general public to find out if they or their families qualify for additional benefits. Some eligibility screenings will be done on site.

AARP has launched the next phase of its Health Action Now campaign with a multimillion-dollar national advertising and grassroots push to ensure every American has a choice of doctor and dependable, affordable health insurance. AARP’s advertising campaign will bust the myths some are spreading to frighten Americans, including false assertions that fixing the health care system will lead to rationed health care, a government takeover or even euthanasia.

“We won’t stand idle when opponents of health care reform attempt to scare or mislead the American people—and older Americans in particular—about what fixing the system really means,” said AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond. “The truth is we need to fix health care, whether it’s ensuring affordable coverage for Americans age 50 to 64 or improving benefits for people in Medicare. It’s time for the public to get the real facts.”

AARP will combine this effort with grassroots action by millions of volunteers and activists. AARP members will visit their representatives and senators in their district offices and attend events in support of health care reform. The Association will also host more than 80 events across the country, including dozens of town hall meetings with legislators and community leaders.

LeaMond added: “The opponents of reform will stop at nothing to derail the process and protect their own vested interests—even if it means misleading older Americans. We’re here to make sure everyone knows the facts and not the myths.”

More information on AARP’s efforts on health care reform is available at the following address: http://www.healthactionnow.org/

A new AARP fact sheet available online summarizes the critical importance of reform of the health care system in Colorado. Major findings highlighted in the publications are:

• Nearly 90,000 Coloradoans age 50-64 are uninsured; many more are under-insured. Too young for Medicare, but old enough to face higher insurance premiums, this group has difficulty accessing affordable health care coverage—Colorado’s Hispanic population has the highest percentage of uninsured.
• About one in eight Coloradoans rely on Medicare coverage and on average spend nearly 30% of their income on health care costs.
• Even though people prefer to remain at home, Colorado spends 78% of its Medicaid long-term care dollars for older people and adults with disabilities on nursing home care and only 22% on home care services.
• Nearly a quarter of Medicare beneficiaries fall into the Part D “doughnut hole” and had to pay the full cost of their prescriptions for a portion of the year. Another 23% of Medicare beneficiaries lived close enough to the poverty line to make them eligible for the Part D Low-Income Subsidy—a high percentage of them, including many Hispanics, have not applied for it.

A full copy of the fact sheet is available at:

www.aarp.org/research/surveys/medss/medicaid/mcaidcosts/articles/state_hcb_09.html

To AARP, any real health care reform plan must address the following six priorities:

• Guaranteeing access to affordable coverage for Americans age 50 to 64;
• Closing the Medicare Part D coverage gap or "doughnut hole";
• Creating access to generic versions of biologic drugs used to treat cancer and other serious diseases to reduce the price of these costly treatments;
• Preventing costly hospital readmissions by creating a follow-up care benefit in Medicare to help people safely transition home after a hospital stay;
• Increasing federal funding and eligibility for home and community based services through Medicaid so older Americans can remain in their homes and avoid more costly institutions as they age; and 
•  Improving programs that help low income Americans in Medicare afford the health care and prescription drugs they need.