A nationwide effort is under way to more accurately gauge the true cost of making ends meet for older adults. The Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index) is an empirically based measure that includes the actual costs of housing, food, medical care, transportation, and other expenses at the county level.

In contrast, the Federal Poverty Line (FPL) is based on data from the 1950s that estimated that the average family spent one-third of their income on food. When the FPL was first calculated in the 1960s, they took the cost of a minimal food basket and tripled it to arrive at the FPL. Other than cost of living adjustments, the FPL is basically the same today when it is applied to determine eligibility for Medicare Part D subsidies and other public programs. In addition, the FPL is the same in every part of the country.

In California, the FPL on average covers only half of the basic costs experienced by older adults in the state. In urban counties, housing costs dominate total expenses, while in rural areas health care costs can exceed housing. The report on the California Elder Index (http://www.healthpolicy.ucla.edu/pubs/publication.asp?pubID=247) by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research has been widely discussed, thanks to the excellent organizing efforts of the state’s lead organization, the Insight Center for Community Economic Development (http://www.insightcced.org/index.php?page=california-elder-economic-security-initiative).

Organizations throughout the nation are calculating and promoting the Elder Index in their states. Massachusetts was first, followed by California, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Wisconsin. With support from the Atlantic Philanthropies, a total of 20 states are scheduled to roll out the Elder Index in the next few years. The effort is led nationally by Wider Opportunities for Women (http://www.wowonline.org/ourprograms/eesi/index.asp) in Washington, D.C.

An overview of the Elder Index, and its policy and practice implications, will be presented at the APHA Annual Meetings in San Diego at Session 3319: Beyond Poverty - The Elder Economic Security Standard, Monday, Oct. 27 at 2:30 p.m.