NC's aging population

The state isn't ready for a doubling of its elderly population over the next two decades, according to a study by the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research. The study says that the number of state residents who are at least

65 years old will grow from 1.1 million in 2006 to 2.2 million by 2030. Like other parts of the country, North Carolina faces the retirement of the Baby Boomers. One of every five Americans will be 65 or older by 2030, according to the public policy center. The increase is expected to be greatest in rural communities, which could strain to provide transportation for a dispersed elderly population. And the needs of rural seniors will differ greatly from those who live in urban counties, where seniors are and will continue to be most numerous, according to the study. The population increase could lead to job shortages, the center said. Also medical costs to the state will rise as Baby Boomers age. North Carolina pays 27 percent of the cost of Medicaid, the health insurance for low-income residents that is now the main source of long-term care coverage for elderly people, according to the center.(Jordan Schrader, ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES; THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 6/16/09).