LINCOLN, Neb. - November is National Veterans and Military Families Month, and AARP has launched a free, one-stop online resource to help more families access health care.

More than 340,000 veterans have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and Veterans Affairs medical centers have reported nearly 15,000 deaths.

Todd Stubbendieck - state director of AARP Nebraska - said now more than ever, veterans and military families need help navigating what can be a complicated enrollment process to get the health-care benefits they earned.

"It's a lot for people to navigate," said Stubbendieck. "And what AARP has come up with is an online resource that will help them navigate the benefits, the requirements and what they are eligible to receive."

Nearly 60% of veterans nationwide are eligible for health-care services through the VA, but less than half actually tap those benefits, according to the latest RAND analysis.

Stubbendieck noted the quality of VA care is widely viewed as equal to or better than care delivered in the private sector. The Veterans and Military Families Health Benefits Navigator is available online at 'AARP.org/VetsHealthNavigator.'

Misunderstanding or frustration with the application process, and confusion about qualification requirements, are seen as the biggest barriers for veterans trying to access health benefits. And Stubbendieck said health care needs can also change over time.

"While someone may have been eligible for VA health care benefits earlier in their life, and chose not to do it," said Stubbendieck, "as they get later in life they may decide that they want health care at the VA. And so it's about tailoring and finding the right fit for them and their particular health-care needs."

Stubbendieck said the new online resource provides a thorough overview of available health benefits, including specific documentation families will need to have ready. He added it can also help families connect with a real person who has experience navigating the enrollment process.

Not enough has been done to prevent another catastrophic power-grid failure such as the one in Texas last February, according to AARP Texas, which warns that consumers will foot the bill for what comes next.

A rare winter storm left millions without power and 246 Texans dead, almost two-thirds of them age 60 or older.

Tim Morstad, director of AARP Texas, estimated that gas and electric customers will pay more than $6 billion in their utility bills to cover cleanup costs from Winter Storm Uri, with none designated for grid improvements. He added that changes proposed by regulators to revamp the electric market lack cost analysis and public input.

"And ultimately it comes down to the pocketbook," he said, "because, while we all want and support a reliable electricity grid, we want to make sure we're getting what we pay for, and we want to make sure that the public's voice is heard."

While improvements may be needed and beneficial, Morstad said the initial price tag at $1.7 billion a year to be built into customers' utility bills is alarming.

In Katy, Lora Taylor and her husband were prepared for rolling blackouts predicted by their utility company as they cared for their special-needs daughter, who suffers seizures and requires breathing and suction machines. Instead, they spent 52 hours without power, and had to recharge the machines from a car battery.

"The trauma of the middle of the night and trying to literally keep her alive - when all the hospitals were filled, all of the roads were icy - was just overwhelming," she said.

Worried about a repeat of last year's storm, the Taylor family purchased a whole-house generator. Taylor said Texans shouldn't have to wait 10 years to make sure safeguards are in place.

"It's just beyond me, that we can't hold people's feet to the fire so that they have to invest to protect consumers," she said. "Every other state handles cold weather. Why can't we?"

Morstad noted that older Texans and medically vulnerable people are particularly sensitive to power outages and utility price hikes, with many living on a fixed income.

"The rub," he said, "is that the proposals being pursued are very expensive, haven't been proven to solve the problem that has been identified, and the pocketbooks are already being strained."

Virginia's 2022 General Assembly session begins tomorrow, and groups supporting older Americans are pushing lawmakers to pass legislation making nursing homes safer and lowers prescription drug prices.

Even before the pandemic, Virginia's nursing homes had serious staffing shortages, which led patients to suffer injuries such as bedsores and issues with toileting care.

Natalie Snider, associate state director of advocacy for AARP Virginia, said the COVID-19 crisis expanded the problem, and she expressed disappointment legislation did not pass last year during the pandemic's peak.

"There are 38 other states that have some sort of minimum staffing standard in place," Snider pointed out. "And Virginia does not have any. And I think this will be the 18th or 19th year that there has been legislation put forth in the General Assembly, and it's time for them to take action."

Nursing Home Abuse Advocates, a nonprofit group tracking unsafe nursing homes, currently has more than 115 Virginia nursing homes on its watchlist.

An AARP survey of Virginia voters showed an overwhelming majority support increasing wages and training for nursing-home staff. Snider reported more than 70% want to establish minimum hourly staffing thresholds and 85% support required infection-control training.

"It was really obvious across the board that people do want these standards in place," Snider contended. "Because we want to know that in a nursing home, our loved ones are getting quality care."

Snider noted her group and other health-care advocates are also urging lawmakers to approve a proposed prescription-drug affordability board. Virginia's neighbor, Maryland, has one, which evaluates drug prices and sets limits on how much certain payers will pay.

"I want to be clear that it's not price setting," Snider emphasized. "We're not telling drug companies that they're allowed to charge for a drug. We're just saying, within this state, this is what payers are allowed to pay."

She added the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs led Maryland to establish the first drug-pricing advisory board in the nation in 2019. Maine and Colorado have approved similar boards since then.

When the Arizona Legislature starts its 2022 session next week, AARP Arizona and other senior advocacy groups say there is a lot of unfinished business to tackle.

The makeup of the Arizona House and Senate will be significantly different, as more than a dozen members left after the 2021 session and will be replaced with new faces.

Brendon Blake, associate state director for advocacy at AARP Arizona, said long-term care, affordable housing for seniors and lowering Medicare drug prices are among his group's top priorities. He said they will work to make sure the 10 new House members and three new senators are up to speed.

"It's important we make sure that not just new members, but members who've been around the block, are aware of where AARP stands on these kinds of issues," Blake explained. "That way, they know where we're coming from and the types of things that we're looking for, and why we support or oppose certain pieces of legislation."

He said with the 2022 midterm elections coming in November, lawmakers could be in a hurry to finish their work and start their campaigns. The main session is set to close in mid-May, but one or more special sessions could be called if major legislation isn't finished.

Blake said AARP has worked for several years to deal with problems in Arizona's long-term care facilities, with a focus on enhancing support for family caregivers, expanding home and community-based services, and promoting best practices in the industry.

"There's a lot of questions that we still have regarding our long-term care facilities, our long-term care system as a whole, and what happened throughout the course of COVID," Blake outlined. "We still have questions as it relates to how our facilities were operating and how our system was operating before COVID."

Blake pointed out another critical issue is dealing with how Arizona's housing crisis is affecting seniors.

"We see housing as two issues," Blake stated. "The affordable housing side of things that allows people to stay in their homes; and then, we see it as the people who have already lost their homes, and they're experiencing homelessness currently."

He added other priorities include working to cut prices on lifesaving prescription drugs, developing a state "Work and Save" plan to help more Arizonans fund their retirement, and developing options to help retirees manage rising utility bills.