State Faces Big Jump In Elderly Commission On Aging Cites Sharp Growth Of Retired In Budget Request

Idaho is bracing for a tidal wave of senior citizens, with the percentage of the population past retirement age expected to double in the next 25 years.

“In just the past 10 years, Idaho has added more than 40,000 people who are age 60 and older,” said Lupe Wissel, director of the Idaho Commission on Aging.

The fast-growing number of seniors has prompted the commission to request a bigger budget from the state.

“When you consider inflation and everything else, we’ve actually lost ground,” said Jeff Schrade, commission spokesman.

“We are concerned. We have put in for a substantial increase, but the governor’s got a lot of competing needs to address with schools and roads and everything else.”

Wissel said seniors made up 11.3 percent of Idaho’s population in 1998, up from 8.7 percent in 1960. By 2025, seniors are expected to make up 21.5 percent of Idahoans.

“The fastest-growing segment of our population is those age 85 and older,” Wissel said. “From 1960 to 1995, this segment of society in Idaho increased 274 percent.”

The Idaho Commission on Aging contracts with six Area Agencies on Aging throughout the state to provide services designed to help seniors remain in their homes, rather than moving to nursing homes. Those services include community and home-delivered meals, respite care, homemaker services and chore services.

“It costs taxpayers $6,000 a year to help a senior citizen stay at home,” Wissel said. “In contrast, it costs Idaho’s tax-funded Medicaid system $36,000 a year to place a senior in a nursing home. We’re committed to helping seniors stay at home, where they are the most comfortable, for as long as possible.”

But the increasing numbers of seniors are putting strains on the agencies’ services. Waiting lists are growing for homemaker services. In the past year alone, the demand for home-delivered meals went up 46 percent.

“That is a figure that we hope the Legislature will consider as they review our budget needs,” Wissel said.

According to state budget figures, the Commission on Aging’s total budget has grown from $6.4 million in 1991 to $9.7 million this year, an increase of about 4.2 percent a year. But in 1995, the commission took over adult protection programs from the Health and Welfare Department, expanding its responsibilities.

Only about 40 percent of the commission’s budget comes from the state, with the rest coming from federal grants.

The commission also oversees older workers’ programs.

Schrade said the commission relies heavily on volunteers to help it provide services to seniors. “Our whole effort would be much poorer if we didn’t have the kind of volunteers that we have,” he said. With the increasing senior population, he said, “We see an increased need for those services. … We see it as pressing.”

This sidebar appeared with the story: NUMBERS Gray area

1960: Seniors made up 8.7 percent of Idaho’s population.

1998: Seniors were at 11.3 percent of the population.

2025: Seniors are expected to make up 21.5 percent of Idahoans.

$6,000: What it costs taxpayers annually to help a senior stay at home.

$36,000: What it costs annually to place a senior in a nursing home.