LINCOLN, Neb. – With the state legislative session in full swing, advocates for older adults are hopeful their senators will continue to prioritize policies that support Nebraskans as they age.

Among the top priorities for AARP Nebraska is Legislative Bill 1004, which would establish permanent Aging and Disability Resource Centers across the state.

Jina Ragland, AARP Nebraska's associate state director of advocacy and outreach, explains the centers are one-stop shops for older adults and Nebraskans with disabilities searching for support and services in their communities.

"It helps people find the right service so they can get the right care at the right time," she says. "And most importantly they can age in place in their homes or in the lowest level of care which in turn not only saves the consumer money but also can provide savings to the state."

This legislative session, he says AARP is also backing LB 439, which would help expand the scope of practice of assisted living nurses, and LB 844, which requires employers to provide 40 hours of paid leave to full-time workers each year to care for themselves or a loved one.

With some elderly Nebraskans struggling to put food on the table, Ragland says LB 770 could help by raising the income limit to qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

"There's 176,000 Nebraskans who get SNAP benefits and 29 percent of those were elderly or had a disability," she notes. "Nutrition is very important in health and without proper nutrition, we have health consequences that result in high medical costs."

Lawmakers are also considering financial security legislation, which Ragland notes is important for both the young and old. LB 194 caps interest rates on predatory payday loans; and LB 757 ends fees for consumers to place or remove a security freeze on their personal information.

"Consumer interests always, I think, are at the forefront for senators," says Ragland. "With the short session and a budget and other tax priority bills I still think we have good senators that are fighting for the rights of Nebraskans and will continue to push for those incentives."

AARP is also supporting LB 738, which would annually adjust Nebraska's taxation of Social Security benefits for inflation.

Ragland believes all these bills can help make life better for Nebraskans ages 65-plus, whose numbers are expected to increase 36 percent from 2010 to 2020, with higher growth among those 85 and older.


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Congress faces increasing pressure to adopt changes to keep Social Security on firm financial ground in the years to come.

North Dakota retirees are sharing their thoughts about key challenges facing the program. It is not losing money as fast as once thought but a recent federal report predicted Social Security will be unable to pay full benefits a decade from now if moves are not made ahead of time.

Eddie Johs, a retiree from Fargo and an AARP volunteer, receives Social Security benefits in addition to a pension. He feels he is one of the lucky ones who does not rely solely on monthly payments from the safety net.

"I realize many people don't have a pension," Johs noted. "Social Security is just a lifeline for those people."

He said some self-employed individuals and those receiving lower wages face barriers in securing larger nest eggs. Johs will attend a Social Security Summit hosted by AARP next Tuesday at the Fargodome from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. He hopes fellow retirees listen in to what elected officials and others have to say about potential solutions and the program's impact.

Congress has long been at odds over how to address the solvency issue. Democrats often push for higher earners to be taxed on more of their income, while some Republicans have floated raising the retirement age. Johs suggested a variety of changes are likely needed but he is skeptical about asking people to work longer for the benefits they've earned.

"People that work construction or work outside, city employees, that'd be tough to work at age 65 and up when you do outdoor physical work," Johs stressed.

Currently, the full benefit retirement age is 66 for those born in 1955, and it will gradually rise to 67 for those born in later years. In the U.S. House, the Republican Study Committee has called for what it describes as "modest adjustments" to the retirement age to account for increases in life expectancy.

As advocacy groups take a victory lap for moving lawmakers to finally allow Medicare to negotiate lower prices for 10 widely-used medicines, a new report detailed how the makers of those drugs have gouged billions of taxpayer and consumer dollars.

Kyle Herrig, senior adviser for the group Accountable.US, said drugmakers have exploited U.S. patent laws to control prices for decades.

"These kinds of tactics keep prices high for the consumers," Herrig pointed out. "And often lead to patients skipping doses, disproportionately impacting lower-income Black and Latin American communities."

Drugmakers have routinely paid competitors to delay the introduction of cheaper generic versions of popular drugs. They have also kept prices high by resetting patent protections by slightly altering a drug to secure a second patent. Drug companies have long argued high prices are necessary to finance the development of new lifesaving medicines.

Even though U.S. taxpayers invested nearly $12 billion in the research and development of the drugs negotiated by Medicare, Herrig said pharmaceutical makers have also flooded the courts to keep prices high.

"Despite taking billions of taxpayer dollars for drug development, these big pharma companies unleashed an army of patent attorneys to keep lifesaving medication exclusive and more expensive for seniors and other patients," Herrig contended.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., worked with groups including AARP to push Congress to allow Medicare to use its purchasing power to bring down drug prices. She said medications do not work if you cannot afford them.

"It is fine to make profits, but not to the extent that you're actually hurting Americans' health," Klobuchar asserted. "In the United States of America, no one should be forced to choose between filling their prescriptions or filling their grocery carts."

Oregon has more than 270,000 veterans. Many of them may not know they're eligible for home modification grants through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. An AARP survey found 60% of veterans aged 45 and older weren't aware of grants available through the VA.

Juanita Jimenez-Soto, AARP national veterans and military families manager, said her organization analyzed five grants from the VA and developed a guide to help veterans navigate through them.

"They allow you to buy, build or modify a home to meet their long term needs. Now these grants provide eligible veterans with a disability rating of one all the way to 100% up to $117,000 to pay for renovations," she explained.

Jimenez-Soto noted financial aid for home modifications are free for people who qualify. The VA offers more than $150 million through these grant programs each year.

AARP's survey also found that nearly a quarter of veterans say they would need financial aid to stay in their current home. Jimenez-Soto added that it's important for people to think not just about their current needs but also what they might need in the future.

"We find that a lot of times veterans may not need that modification - that handrail in the bathroom or that ramp - but as you age your body will change sometimes," she continued.

Jimenez-Soto said veterans need to remember they earned these benefits.

"Sometimes a veteran may not think that they are deserving of those benefits. Maybe someone else who's also served, they think, 'Well they could need it more.' The thing is, there is enough money out there in these programs to apply for them and get them," she said.