SEATTLE — Today, AARP, the Alzheimer’s Disease Data Initiative (AD Data Initiative), and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington announced the Dementia Risk Reduction Project, a new collaboration to study how factors -- air pollution, alcohol use, depression, diabetes, high body mass index, hearing loss, hypertension, low education, physical inactivity, social isolation, smoking, and traumatic brain injury—vary by state and their correlation to dementia. The research will explore causal links between each factor and dementia, providing valuable information for both consumers and policymakers to address dementia risks in their communities.

According to a new AARP survey exploring the second half of life, most older adults have an optimistic outlook on life and expect their lives to improve as they get older. Nearly 9 in 10 are at least somewhat optimistic about their future, with half being extremely or very optimistic.

WASHINGTON—Today, AARP released a new report detailing the savings from an important new protection for our nation’s 56 million Medicare drug plans enrollees. The savings, thanks to a provision in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act that AARP championed, will cap out-of-pocket prescription drug costs every year, beginning at $2,000 in January 2025. The report analyzes the number of enrollees that will benefit from the cap by state, age, gender, and race between 2025 and 2029. The findings indicate that Medicare drug plan enrollees who reach the new out-of-pocket cap will see average savings of roughly $1,100, or 56%, in 2025 for their prescription drugs.

Today, AARP Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer Nancy LeaMond issued the following statement in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announcement of the first Medicare negotiated drug prices as part of the 2022 prescription drug law:

Today, AARP – on behalf of the Global Council on Brain Health -- released the ‘Special Report: Hearing Matters for Brain Health,’ highlighting the importance of addressing hearing loss to promote communication and social engagement and reduce the possibility of cognitive decline and dementia. This report comes at a critical time as the growing body of evidence is clear: social isolation and loneliness, which can be associated with hearing loss, are a public health threat. According to U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murphy, the U.S. is in the midst of a loneliness and social isolation epidemic, increasing the risk of premature death and can be as detrimental as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.