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The AARP Public Policy Institute's nonpartisan policy analysis focuses on issues of critical importance to older Americans and draws on the work of experts across the ideological spectrum.

The Effect of a Universal Automatic IRA With Emergency Savings on Household Wealth

This report models the effects of an Automatic Individual Retirement Account (Auto IRA), a simple retirement savings program that is currently in use in several states, along with a feature for emergency savings.

How Do Americans View Social Security? 

This report finds that, broadly consistent with other polling, Social Security has been and continues to be viewed favorably, enjoying widespread popularity across many socioeconomic and political groups.

The Scope of Elder Financial Exploitation: What It Costs Victims

This report, using a first-of-its-kind methodology to measure the annual financial cost of elder financial exploitation (EFE) in the United States, finds that victims over age 60 lose $28.3 billion each year.

US Small Business Employment and Older Workers

This paper provides details on older workers’ prominent position in what remains a key driver of the labor force and overall economy: small businesses.

Monthly Employment Data Digest

The latest monthly digest of employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) examines the findings from the Employment Situation Report. It takes a closer look at employment data for people ages 55 and over, including labor force participation, employment rates, and duration of unemployment.

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Medicare Savings Program Enrollment Increases When States Expand Financial Eligibility Criteria

This AARP Insight reports findings from an analysis of MSP enrollment patterns in a sample of four states before and after the states expanded MSP eligibility criteria.

Policy Options to Improve Older Adults’ Health Insurance Affordability

A new series of four briefs explores a range of state and federal policy options that could increase access to affordable health insurance and potentially reduce health disparities among individuals ages 50 to 64.  

Eliminating Access to No-Cost Preventive Health Services Could Affect More Than 12 Million Adults Ages 50 to 64

A Texas federal court recently ruled that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provision of requiring most private health insurers to cover recommended preventive services without cost-sharing was unconstitutional, putting access to no-cost critical preventive health services in jeopardy for millions of Americans. 

Medication Literacy Series: Drug Formularies

This fact sheet highlights the essential components of drug formularies and considers the challenges that older adults face when responding to the impacts and implications of formularies annually and throughout the plan year.

Trends in Retail Prices of Generic Prescription Drugs Widely Used by Older Americans, 2006 to 2020

The findings of this report highlight the pricing dynamics in the generic drug market when compared with those in the brand name drug market. 

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Long-Term Services & Supports State Scorecard

A State Scorecard on Long-Term Services and Supports for Older Adults, People with Physical Disabilities, and Family Caregivers

Innovation and Opportunity: A State Scorecard on Long-Term Services and Supports for Older Adults, People with Physical Disabilities, and Family Caregivers

The 2023 LTSS State Scorecard (the Scorecard) is a compilation of state data and analysis based on a new vision of a high-performing state long-term services and supports (LTSS) system. Released every three years, the Scorecard uses data from a wide range of sources to describe how state LTSS systems are performing.  

Advancing Racial and Ethnic Equity in Long-Term Services and Supports

This issue brief highlights research on inequities in LTSS related to the Scorecard’s five domains. This paper further outlines potential data sources to assess these inequities and discusses implications for how AARP plans to address these inequities through the Scorecard.

Expanding ADU Development and Occupancy: Solutions for Removing Local Barriers to ADU Construction

This guide is intended to help community leaders, planners, and housing practitioners and advocates identify and overcome specific challenges that limit the local supply and legal occupancy of ADUs.

Valuing the Invaluable 2023 Update: Strengthening Supports for Family Caregivers

This report pulls from multiple sources to profile who family caregivers are and the challenges they face and includes several first-person accounts of the experience.

CAPABLE: A Model of Empowering Older Adults to Remain Independent

This paper highlights the Community Aging in Place—Advancing Better Living for Elders (CAPABLE) model, designed to keep older adults in the community and to improve their ability to remain independent. 

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Valuing the Invaluable 2023 Update: Strengthening Supports for Family Caregivers 

Family caregivers fill an essential role in our fractured long-term services and supports (LTSS) system. In 2021, the estimated economic value of family caregivers’ unpaid contributions was approximately $600 billion, based on about 38 million caregivers providing an average of 18 hours of care per week for a total of 36 billion hours of care, at an average value of $16.59 per hour.

Family Caregiver Considerations for the Future of Hospital at Home Programs 

The declaration of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) accelerated an already burgeoning movement of health care into the home. An increasing number of health care systems are choosing to invest in homebased care in new and innovative ways, and consumers are using these services at unprecedented levels. The Hospital at Home (HaH) model shifts care into the home setting and delivers acute hospital-level care to eligible patients where they live instead of in a hospital. 

Caring Locally for Caregivers: How State and Local Laws Protect Family Caregivers from Discrimination at Work

Workplace discrimination against employees who care for adult family members, called Family Responsibilities Discrimination (FRD) or caregiver discrimination, is an escalating problem that can disadvantage employees and put employers at legal risk. This report details the ways in which state and local laws fill in the gaps left by federal law by prohibiting employment discrimination that occurs because of family caregiving.

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