Poverty

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released its annual reports on poverty, income, and health insurance for 2022. Key findings relevant to aging and disability networks included: Of the more common subtypes of health insurance coverage, employment-based insurance was the most prevalent, covering 54.5% of the population for some or all of the calendar year, followed by Medicaid (18.8%), Medicare (18.7%), and direct-purchase coverage (9.9%). Between 2021 and 2022, the rate of Medicare coverage increased by 0.3 percentage points to cover 18.7% of people. This increase was in part due to growth in the number of people age 65 and older...

This three-part report begins with an examination of the causes of poverty for older women. It also explores the issue of intersectionality in light of disproportionate rates of poverty for both women of color and LGBTQ women. The second part of this report provides an overview of the various anti-poverty programs available for older women. Finally, the report concludes by offering specific policy recommendations for increasing older women’s economic security.

This brief and interactive map from the Kaiser Family Foundation provide the latest national and state-level estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau of the share of people ages 65 and older who are living in poverty. These resources explore the poverty rate among seniors under the official poverty measure and the Supplemental Poverty Measure.

This report from the National Disability Institute (NDI) studies the prevalence of disability by race, the changing rate of disability by age and race, and the impact of race and disability on educational attainment, employment, banking status, health insurance, medical debt, and food insecurity.