By Raga Justin
Albany Times Union

ALBANY — New York’s infrastructure for caring for older adults could face headwinds from looming federal funding changes, even as the state’s share of older adults is expected to increase, according to a report from the state comptroller’s office. 

The report comes as thousands of older New Yorkers are on waiting lists for services offered by the state’s Office for the Aging. In addition, the Office for the Aging recently reported serving more than 1 million New Yorkers, “there are at least 16,000 older residents annually who have not been served,” according to the report.

Along with projections indicating that more elderly people will need services or programs, “benefits and supports intended to improve the quality of independent life for older New Yorkers will be strained,” state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said in the report. 

Two years ago, the comptroller’s office released an audit that found the Office for the Aging did not “consistently monitor local agencies or issue guidance on tracking and reporting wait lists.” This week’s report that some of that data is still not consistently available, including wait list numbers by county and program, and how many eligible older adults remain unserved.

“Without this information, it is difficult to determine where services are falling short or how effectively taxpayer dollars are being used,” the report concluded. 

The comptroller’s findings underscore twin demographic trends that have concerned elder advocates for years: New York’s population will get increasingly older in the coming decades, and as the number of older people living in poverty in New York has jumped nearly 50% in the last decade.

According to numbers provided by the state comptroller, adults over the age of 65 represent over 18% of the population in New York, or around 3.6 million adults. By 2030, more than 25% of the population in 51 counties will be over 60 — around 5.5 million people.

That mirrors national and worldwide trends, which demographers attribute at least in part to access to better health care, allowing people to live longer, coupled with declining birth rates in many parts of the world. 

Yet older adults are more likely to be reliant on services provided by the government, especially health care. 

The comptroller’s report pointed to increasing New York costs for Medicaid, the joint federal-state health insurance program that helps subsidize medical care for lower-income Americans, even as recent changes to the program under the Trump administration will result in less federal dollars.

There are also proposals for a widespread reduction in programs that help support older Americans specifically, including some supplemental food benefits, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and funding for some public health prevention initiatives focused on Alzheimer’s. 

Those changes could mean senior residents are increasingly thrust onto resources provided through the state Office of the Aging, which administers non-medical services like in-home care, housekeeping, transportation and food assistance. 

“The recently enacted federal budget bill will reduce federal support for Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program over time, affecting participation in these programs,” the comptroller’s report warns. “Resulting restrictions in eligibility and funding may leave some older New Yorkers without benefits they receive currently and may cause them to look for support from NYSOFA services.”