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By Mike Festa, State Director, AARP Massachusetts The Massachusetts House and Senate wrapped up formal legislative sessions on July 31. AARP Massachusetts fought for the...

I have been a registered lobbyist on Beacon Hill for 30 years. I have only represented one client over all that time: Mass Home Care, a private, nonprofit network whose mission is to help elderly and disabled individuals live independently at home. I am in the middle of my 30th state budget cycle. The House version of the budget has just been approved. The Senate is up next. There were 1,307 amendments filed in the House, which means that the average state representative filed eight budget amendments.

I remember one moment when the world, at least my world, rested in perfect harmony. This wasn’t my only such moment, but it was the earliest I remember of experiencing that sweet contentment that occurs when everything is in its place. When my sister and I were little, our parents played piano. They had a tiny band, playing for weekly square dances at the village dance hall on the lake. Usually they were joined by a saxophone player and a drummer, sometimes a fiddler, sometimes a banjo player. But the piano was the musical anchor, necessary for every set of three square dances followed by three ballroom dances. The work was too demanding physically for one pianist; our parents took turns.

Picture a widowed elderly woman in her mid-80s. She needs help daily with bathing, dressing and toileting. But she has one more problem. She has been told that there are no workers available to come into her home to fill all the hours of care she needs. This scenario is happening more and more across the commonwealth. The recruitment and retention of home care aides, home health aides, and care managers poses a real threat to the independence of many of our older neighbors. The image of a low-wage/high-turnover job makes it hard to find and keep home care workers. We must do better if we are to keep up with our fastest growing demographic - those over age of 60. We must give these workers "enough pay to stay."

For many veterans and their spouses, the most important thing is to be aware of the benefit so you’ll know the help is there when you need it.

By Deborah E. Banda Since national health care reform has been signed into law, have you figured out yet what you need to know? AARP...

By Linda F. Fitzgerald As we embrace yet another New England winter, we don’t have to limit our connection to friends and family due to...

Anti-aging enthusiasts contend that life spans can be prolonged through interventions such as hormone replacement therapy and dietary supplements. Critics, including much of the medical establishment, say many anti-aging interventions are ineffective or harmful.

Salt has been used as a skin scrub “since practically the beginning of time,” said Allure magazine Editor-in-Chief Linda Wells. “It’s something that’s a great exfoliant. And it feels really good on the skin. There’s also relaxing bath salts, Epsom salt — you can just soak in those — and they have an anti-inflammatory effect. It’s good if you’re feeling puffy.”

By Al Norman Two years ago, a U.S. District Court Judge in Burlington, Vermont ruled in the case of Anderson vs. Sebelius that Medicare should...