It’s May, and that means it’s Older Americans Month. This year’s theme is Age Out Loud, chosen “…to give aging a new voice – one that reflects what today’s older adults have to say.”

Older Americans are a group that have a lot at stake in ongoing health system transformation initiatives. A vital goal of the Center for Consumer Engagement in Health Innovation is promoting the meaningful role older consumers can exercise when they lift up their voices. Several of our staff members recently met an older adult who perfectly exemplifies what it means to stand up and speak out loudly for better health out of one’s own life experience. Kathy Paul is a 69-year-old resident of Lynn, Massachusetts and an active member of the Massachusetts Senior Action Council. The Council, founded in 1981, is a statewide, grassroots, senior-led organization that empowers its members to use their own voices to address key public policy and community issues that affect their health and well-being.

Kathy spoke out loudly at a press conference in Boston on May 8 [video courtesy of BNN – Boston Neighborhood Network] on the American Health Care Act, a bill that would result in significant cuts to care for older adults. The bill was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and is now pending before the Senate. Kathy joined Sen. Edward Markey and other community leaders at the event, including speakers from Health Care For All, Community Catalyst, Health Law Advocates, Boston Medical Center GROW Clinic, Disability Advocates Advancing Our Healthcare Rights, Massachusetts Senior Action Council, Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery, the American Cancer Society Action Network and the American Heart Association.

Kathy introduced herself “…not just as an activist, but as a mother of five, a grandmother of 10, and a great-grandmother of five, who is deeply concerned about the future of health care.”

She continued: “As a senior, I live on a very limited fixed income and I rely on MassHealth [the Massachusetts Medicaid program] for my health care. I feel very fortunate because, for the most part, I am very healthy. I don’t take any medication and stay very active. But I know the reality of when that’s not the case. My husband had several very serious health conditions including diabetes and kidney failure. He had to endure two amputations below the knee and was on dialysis three times a week. If it was not for MassHealth, we would never have been able to cover his care. I am thankful that I was able to focus on taking care of him rather than worrying about how we would pay for the care he needed or being denied because we did not have the money to meet a huge deductible…This debate is not about party politics. This debate is about the wealthy getting wealthier and the rest of us paying the price. We cannot allow this assault on our right to basic health care to move forward. We must speak up and speak out.”

Kathy first got involved with the Massachusetts Senior Action Council in 2007, while her late husband was still alive and she was putting most of her energy into the demands of caring for him. After he passed away in 2012, it was a turning point in her life. She explains, “With more time on your hands, what do you do? Just sit in the house, stare at the walls and complain, or get out and do something about it? What our group likes to say, ‘we don’t just take it, we take charge!’”

In recent years, ‘taking charge’ for Kathy has meant testifying at the Massachusetts Statehouse against rate hikes for older adults using public transportation services and advocating for genuinely affordable housing options for older adults in the Commonwealth. And on a Monday morning in May, it meant joining hands with her United States senator and telling her story from the podium to a bank of television cameras and assembled reporters.

We can’t wait to see what she’ll do next.

During this month, let us know at @ccehi how you #AgeOutLoud!

With our thanks to Kathy Paul for her guest contributions to this post.