Below is an article by Ecumen President and CEO Kathryn Roberts, which ran in yesterday’s Saint Paul Pioneer Press:The Age Wave: An Opportunity to Live Better, LongerAbout 70 people young and old recently met for two days at the Citizens League’s offices in St. Paul to brainstorm how to improve health care, communities and the state budget. Here’s what these people had in common: All were aging and see it as transformative opportunity for the marketplace and public policy.Why is it so important for citizens, businesses, policymakers, health care providers and others to focus on aging and transformation? I answer with another question: How do you want to live?Government nursing homes have been the cornerstone of Minnesota’s long-term care system since the 1960s. Medicaid €” called Medical Assistance in Minnesota €” doesn’t cover the cost of care. An inefficient, outdated system leads to a continuous state budget battle over nickels and dimes that never catches up with costs.Those nickels and dimes nonetheless add up. Long-term care is a big, fast-growing budget item. At $1.5 billion, it has almost doubled since 2000, with $7 of every $10 going to government nursing homes rather than less expensive services such as at-home or assisted living.Minnesota is stuck in a time warp at the worst possible time: a permanent shift in the age of our state’s population.In 2011, baby boomers begin turning 65. In 2020, Minnesota’s seniors will outnumber children. The largest-growing population group is the ‘old-old,’ those 85 and older. And, if obesity trends don’t reverse, we’ll see more disabled young people.
Absent innovation, government spending for long-term care in Minnesota could easily exceed $20 billion by 2050.We can’t change demographics. We can change how we live and pay for the privilege. We have to. A new age demands new solutions.That’s what the Citizens League workshop was about. Ideas included: