Skip to content
African American mother and son

GETTY IMAGES

Welcome to the AARP Public Policy Institute. This month we are highlighting our work on family caregivers and caregiving. Twenty million family caregivers perform complex medical or nursing tasks with very little guidance or support. AARP is a founding member in the Home Alone Alliance, which creates guidance for healthcare professionals who engage with family caregivers and tools for family caregivers providing complex care.

In addition, the Public Policy Institute generates research and insights about long term services and supports and family caregiving, often highlighting innovative solutions that can be replicated in more places and communities.

Learn more

The AARP Public Policy Institute (PPI) promotes the development of sound, creative policies to address our common need for economic security, health care, and quality of life. Learn more about our health and other issue areas below. 

   

Our Issues

Social Security. Medicare. Health costs. Consumer fraud. Caregiving. Aging in your community. Find analysis and perspectives on these and other issues from experts at AARP Public Policy Institute.

The AARP Livability Index scores every neighborhood and community in the US for the services and amenities that affect people’s lives the most. During AARP Livability Index Week, April 18-22, we explored the groundbreaking tool live in a series of deep-dive conversations focused on three of the seven core elements of the Index – housing, transportation, and engagement. 

LEARN MORE

Initiatives

We collaborate with other organizations to find policy solutions for problems facing older Americans. Some of these major initiatives include: a focus on jobs, unemployment and work opportunities for the 50-plus; an effort to change the way health care organizations and professionals interact with family caregivers; and a near decade-long push to transform health and health care through nursing.

Experts

Our experts cover a wide range of issues from Social Security and Medicare to health reform, livable communities, consumer protection, long-term care, caregiving, financial security and more.

AARP Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard

AARP fought for public reporting of nursing home COVID-19 cases and deaths. Using this data, the AARP Public Policy Institute, in collaboration with the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University in Ohio, created the AARP Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard.

   

Policy Plus Action Newsletter

Issues that affect older adults are many, and the AARP Public Policy Institute understands how they all connect. Powered by that expertise, Policy Plus Action newsletter gives you the full aging-issue landscape so you stay informed on your areas of interest plus see how they interact other issues.

About AARP Public Policy Institute

The Public Policy Institute is the focal point of public policy analysis and development at AARP. We work to design policies that help improve life for older Americans.

AARP Livability Index: Great Neighborhoods for All Ages

This important resource helps communities assess how well they're meeting the needs of people as they age.

   

AARP Public Policies

Learn about AARP’s policy positions and our policy development process.

The Public Policy Institute is home to the Center to Champion Nursing in America, a joint initiative of AARP Foundation, AARP and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The center coordinates the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, a nationwide initiative of those same organizations to transform health and health care through nursing.

Long-Term Services and Supports Scorecard

This scorecard ranks each state on its ability to provide long-term services and supports for older adults, people with disabilities and family caregivers, with the goal of improving service delivery and lives.

Award-Winning Policy Now Video Series Highlights PPI Research

AARP Policy Now videos explain high-level research findings from PPI reports in clear, accessible ways.

Learning and Education at 50+

AARP Public Policy Institute is working with The Graduate! Network on a series of state pilot programs in Kentucky, Texas, and Michigan to help older learners connect with resources and support that can help them overcome barriers, reskill or upskill for their careers, and, for some, fulfill a lifelong dream of higher education.

Connect With Us

AARP Public Policy Institute experts  blog about the issues they cover, from financial security and Medicare to livable communities and long-term services and supports. Read the latest.

Susan Reinhard is senior vice president and director of AARP Public Policy Institute. Read her latest blogs on family caregiving, healthy living, nursing and more. Read Susan's Blogs