Pennsylvania Bulletin State News
By: States: Pennsylvania Source: AARP.org Date Posted:
March 2008
About insurance – Consumers can now find answers to insurance-related questions on a newly launched state Web page. In January, Acting Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario announced the launch of a link on the state’s insurance website offering online resources for older Pennsylvanians and their caregivers. Go to www.ins.state.pa.us and click on “Older Pennsylvanians” to find brochures, consumer alerts and links to other useful sites and services. Consumer advocates say the link is a step in the right direction. Even so, AARP Pennsylvania is urging lawmakers to go a step further by passing a bill (HB 1121) that would establish an Office of Consumer Advocate for Insurance within the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. To learn more, go to www.aarp.org/pa.
January/February 2008
Aid for caregivers – More caregivers would be eligible for greater financial relief under legislation (HB 1830) now before the state Senate The bill, which AARP Pennsylvania supports, would expand home care reimbursements under the state’s Family Caregiver Support Program and would allow nonfamily caregivers to receive such aid. The legislation, passed by the House of Representatives in October, would raise the monthly allowance for out-of-pocket expenses from $200 to $500 and increase one-time grants for home modifications or assistive devices from $2,000 to $6,000. Nearly one in four U.S. households is involved in caring for a friend or family member age 50-plus.
December 2007
A zoo story – In a one-day autumn blitz at Philadelphia's historic Reading Terminal Market, volunteers for AARP's Divided We Fail campaign collected nearly 1,000 pledges from Pennsylvanians who support legislation aimed at ensuring affordable health care and lifelong financial security for all Americans. Previously at the Philadelphia Zoo, volunteers gathered more than 300 Divided We Fail pledges during a wellness fair sponsored by the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging In addition, volunteers decked out in red Divided We Fail T-shirts made an appearance at an Oct. 30 Democratic presidential candidate debate at Drexel University, where Champ, the campaign mascot — a donkey-elephant hybrid — made its national debut. For more information about the campaign, visit www.dividedwefail.org.
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