More than 40% of older Michiganders live alone, and studies show the pandemic has exacerbated loneliness for many.

The State of Michigan has renewed a partnership with GetSetUp, an online learning platform, which can help seniors learn how to stay social and connected from home.

Kayla Smith, health promotion and wellness coordinator for the Michigan Bureau of Aging, Community Living and Supports, said the program has supported many older people in getting the hang of Zoom in a safe environment, and from there, all kinds of classes become available.

"There are a lot of classes that focus on health and wellness, and other topics," Smith explained. "Like the Detroit Hustle, which is a Michigan favorite. There are various morning fitness classes, and even a class on decluttering your home."

Smith added Michiganders who want to join the platform can go online to getsetup.io/michigan. If anyone wants to help a family member or friend start their own account, they can visit the website getsetupfriend.com to walk them through the process. The platform can also be accessed at any library, where library staff can answer questions.

Lawrence Kosik, co-founder and president of GetSetUp, started the platform to empower older adults with online learning and virtual education. He noted since the program started, Michigan learners have become educators themselves, teaching other classes on the platform. And in the first year of the partnership with the state, more than 108,000 people signed up.

"That whole peer-to-peer live interactive piece has been really wonderful," Kosik remarked. "And you not only learn the things that you want and need to learn, but you make friends, and you form groups, and you come back and take classes with those friends. So, we like to say that people come for the learning, but often times, they stay for the socialization."

He added GetSetUp was started before the pandemic, but met a key need during those long months of isolation, helping people learn how to do things from ordering groceries and medicines online, to doing their banking and using telehealth.

Relief may be on the way for many older Nevadans who need hearing aids but can't afford to pay $3,000 to $5,000 for a pair.

The Food and Drug Administration has just cleared the way for hearing aids to be sold without a prescription or a visit to the audiologist.

Favil West is founder and chairman of the board of the nonprofit Foundation Assisting Seniors in Henderson, which helps older folks get durable medical equipment.

"I think that in my judgment, this is a great boon," said West, "if it's quality equipment, if it's equipment that's going to last seniors."

The Biden administration predicts this could save people up to $3,000 per pair. The less-expensive hearing aids could hit pharmacy shelves as early as October.

West said people need to keep quality top of mind and thinks many people will stick with higher-end models, if they can afford them.

"They last longer," said West. "The batteries are readily accessible and then they can tune them. They use the TV, you can turn down the volume, you eliminate crowd noise. So these are the kinds of things that really make a hearing aid effective."

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders estimates that one third of people ages 65 to 74 have hearing loss, and that rises to more than half of people older than 75.

President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law Tuesday, providing a means for making prescription drug prices more affordable in the future.

Along with $370 billion for clean-energy programs, the legislation helps cap drug costs in a number of ways, including allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices and limiting those paid out-of-pocket to $2,000 per year for people with Medicare Part D.

Andrea Meyer, director of government relations for AARP Oregon, applauded the measure.

"AARP is so pleased to finally see this legislation pass," Meyer stated. "It revolutionizes the prescription-drug market and will finally hold drug companies accountable for their prices."

Meyer pointed out the Inflation Reduction Act has other provisions aimed at drug prices, including penalizing drug companies raising their prices faster than inflation and capping copays for insulin at $35 a month for Medicare Part D beneficiaries. Republicans, who opposed the bill, say it will expand the deficit and increase the size of government.

Meyer noted many people on Medicare have to ration their prescriptions because prices exceed what they can afford. She emphasized cost increases have dwarfed even the highest rates of inflation.

"If consumer prices had risen as fast as drug prices over the last 15 years, gas would now cost over $12 a gallon and milk would be $13 a gallon," Meyer asserted.

Many of the legislation's prescription-drug provisions will be phased in over the next few years.

As parts of Southern California suffer with triple-digit temperatures, state lawmakers are set to vote today on two bills to study and mitigate heat waves.

Assembly Bill 2238 would create a heat-ranking system like we already have for tornadoes and hurricanes. David Azevedo, associate director of AARP California, said heat is the leading weather-related cause of death in the country.

"Older people are more susceptible to heat-related illnesses due to weakened cardiovascular systems, pre-existing health conditions," said Azevedo, "and the fact that many prescription medications used by older people impact temperature regulation and hydration."

California's Fourth Climate Change Assessment, in 2018, predicted that excess deaths due to extreme heat could hit 4,300 per year by 2025, and 11,000 in 2050 if trends continue.

Azevedo said a second bill - Assembly Bill 2076 - would fund projects to increase tree canopies, build shaded bus shelters, install so-called "cool pavement" and retrofit buildings to make them more heat-resistant.

"AB 2076 would also create an extreme heat and health reporting system," said Azevedo, "which will receive and analyze data from local health departments, clinics and hospitals to better identify where extreme heat is most negatively harming communities."

The bill also would create the country's first "chief heat officer." The two bills are in the committee's "suspense file," which means they could get an up-or-down vote without a hearing.