California’s Senior Population is Growing Faster Than Any Other Age Group. How the Next Governor Responds is Crucial

From the LA Times:

... The next governor will be confronted with a demographic shift of epic proportions: Seniors will be California’s fastest-growing population. Between now and 2026, the number of Californians 65 and older is expected to climb by 2.1 million, according to projections by the state Department of Finance. By contrast, the number of 25- to 64-year-olds is projected to grow by just more than half a million; the number of Californians younger than 25 will grow by a mere 2,500. 

That radical transformation has been largely absent from discussion as politicians grapple with education, healthcare and environmental policies. 

But the graying of California will seep into nearly every nook of the state budget and policy planning under the next governor. It will determine what services will be in demand and how money must be spent. Most significant, it will place enormous strain on the state’s already fragile network of long-term services and supports, including in-home aides and skilled nursing facilities. 

“We are exquisitely unprepared for that [oldest] age demographic pushing through,” said Dr. Bruce Chernof, president of the SCAN Foundation, an aging advocacy group. 

What does it mean to govern an aging state? It means dealing with higher healthcare costs, particularly for low-income seniors who are eligible for Medi-Cal coverage, the state-subsidized healthcare system for the poor. There are currently close to 1.2 million Californians 65 or older enrolled in the program. 

It means grappling with poverty in a different way. California politicians often focus on the state’s child poverty rate, which averaged nearly 23% from 2014 to 2016. But fewer talk about the poverty rate among seniors, which was 20% during the same time period, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure. The fastest-growing population of homeless people is among older adults; in Los Angeles County, the number of homeless people 62 or older surged by 22% this year, even as the overall homeless population slightly dropped. ...

 Full story here.