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Retirement Daily
Retirement Daily Special Report: Addressing Aging Challenges
By Ocean Ouillette,
11 days ago
By Ocean Ouillette
The executive vice president and chief public policy officer of the largest lobby group for Americans over the age of 50 named high prescription drug costs, financial exploitation and skilled care as top priorities for her organization.
Whitman spoke about one of the biggest issues that Americans face today: the high cost of prescription drugs. Given that Americans pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs, Whitman asserted, “If there’s one issue that unites the American people, this [prescription drug costs] is probably it.” She reported that the AARP has been working on federal, state and local levels to lower out-of-pocket costs for Americans. This has included the advancement of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 , which puts an annual $2,000 cap on Part D recipients’ out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs.
Another prominent issue undertaken by the AARP is financial scams and exploitation. Whitman reported that scammers are asking seniors for more and more money, meaning that an entire life’s savings can be lost in seconds. In order to combat this issue, AARP has started the BankSafe initiative, which seeks to prevent financial exploitation and empower older adults. Whitman announced that the program has already saved Americans $30 million.
Whitman also addressed the high cost of long-term care for aging adults. She reported an increasing number of middle-class Americans struggling to pay for care and working adults leaving their jobs to care for older adults. She urged researchers and policymakers to find solutions to help the “struggling families [AARP] hear[s] from every day.”
The aging population is encountering housing issues, Whitman reported. Many elders, particularly those who are widowed, now live in homes that are too large to maintain by themselves. Furthermore, many elders now find their homes inaccessible, as Whitman pitched that only 1% of houses are truly accessible. Whitman suggested multi-family, intergenerational living as a solution. This way, families are able to help each other, learn from one another and save money. She asserted, “We need to look for more ways to put generations together to solve problems.” Intergenerational living is one way to do this.
At the end of the talk, Whitman urged a new way of thinking about aging adults. She said, “We need to think of aging people as our fastest-growing asset on this planet. It’s the one true resource that is growing. If we can take advantage of all the people who want to work and contribute in volunteering and all of the different ways, we can have a whole different society.”
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