Federal Poverty Line Excludes Many Income Insecure Elders of Color from Benefits

The Federal Poverty Level (FPL) is an outdated measure based on 1950s consumption patterns. It is used in many public programs' eligibility guidelines and is uniform nationally. To correct the flaws of the FPL, the Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index) was developed. It takes the actual costs of housing, food, health care, transportation, and other expenses at the county level to calculate the minimum required for a dignified standard of living. In California, housing costs and other costs are significantly above the national average, making the minimum costs for older adults about twice the FPL on average. When the county-specific costs using the Elder Index are compared to elders' incomes in California, we find that elders of color living alone are twice as likely to be economically insecure as older non-Latino whites. This disparity persists when controlling for age, housing type (rental versus owner), and gender. Only one-third of those economically insecure according to the Elder Index in each race/ethnic group fell under the FPL, meaning that as many as two-thirds of older Californians who are struggling to make ends meet are not considered “needy” using the FPL. With the high rates of economically insecure elders of color in the state, they are disproportionately disqualified from public programs by the use of the outdated FPL measure. The implications for specific health policies are described, along with efforts at the state level to promote the use of the Elder Index in planning and policy.