BY NADIA RAMLAGAN
PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE

Kentuckians age 50 and older across the state continue to struggle with high prescription drug costs, caregiver stress, and lack of long-term care options. Advocates say most residents want aging-in-place resources to stay in their homes longer.

Dwight Butler, executive council member of AARP Kentucky, explained increasing support for local Area Agencies on Aging, increasing the amount of professional caregivers, and assisting unpaid family caregivers could help older residents continue to thrive in their communities.

“If a person is able to stay at home, they don’t need to go into a nursing home,” Butler explained. “They can stay at home with just a little help from someone coming in paid by the state.”

Butler noted AARP volunteers will be discussing aging-in-place, elder abuse, utility costs, guardianship protections to prevent exploitation, and other issues affecting older Kentuckians directly with lawmakers at its annual Lobby Day Feb. 23.

Butler added the state’s current budget surplus offers a chance to bring down living costs for seniors increasingly squeezed by inflation and rising utility bills, prescription medication and health care costs.

“I think that this is the time to use that money to protect our seniors and give them a higher quality of life,” Butler urged.

Research shows between 2021 and 2022, nationwide around one in four adults 65 or older cut back on at least one basic need, including reducing spending on food, utilities and over-the-counter drugs to pay for health care.