LIVING LONGER--KNOW THE NUMBERS
LEGISLATIVE AGENDA--WHAT WE SUPPORT
THE ISSUE
Seniors are the fastest growing segment of the American population. Over 10,000 people turn 65 every day, and one quarter of today’s 65-year-olds will live past the age of 90. Those seniors are living longer too. For many, the price of living longer means more years spent with the struggles that accompany old age--loss of mobility and declining health. Add to that the increase in geographic mobility of our families, and the result is millions of seniors left behind, hungry and alone.
Without programs like Meals on Wheels, millions of seniors are forced to prematurely trade their homes for nursing facilities. We can provide a senior Meals on Wheels for an entire year for roughly the same cost as spending one day in the hospital or ten days in a nursing home. Meals on Wheels saves us all billions of dollars in unnecessary Medicaid and Medicare expenses every year – tax dollars that can be spent in much better ways.
Yet while America's population of seniors is rapidly increasing, Meals on Wheels programs are serving 23 million fewer meals today than in 2005 due to funding that has not kept pace.