The state is getting older faster. From Louisville Business First:

There were 57.8 million Americans 65 and older in the U.S. in 2022, representing 17.3% of the population. And, according to the Administration for Community Living’s 2023 Profile of Older Americans, that percentage is expected to grow to 22% by 2040.

The report shows more than one in every six Americans were 65+ in 2022.

For Kentucky in 2022, there were 793,007 people 65 and older, which is a 29% increase from 2012-22.

According to census figures, 17 percent of Kentuckians are over 65, and as the above figures show, that population is growing as a faster rate than the rest of the nation, which translates to a greater need for health services. But the state is also poorer than much of the rest of the nation, which means health services aren’t affordable for many. People are going to be looking at care facilities for their elders, but what they’re going to find isn’t encouraging:

The national annual median cost of a semi-private room in a nursing home rose to $111,325, an increase of 7% from the prior year, while the cost of a private room in a nursing home increased 9% to $127,750.

The report shows the median monthly cost of a semi-private room in Kentucky costs $8,730, or $287 per day, and a private room is $9,946, or $327 per day. 

For the Louisville area, data from Genworth shows a semi-private room costs $107,310 yearly, and a private room is $135,050, both based on 365 days of care.

Now, the median income in Kentucky is less than $35,000, while the average salary hovers around $57,000. If it costs more than $100,000 to put a person in a nursing home, this means that without government assistance, most Kentucky families will have to care for their own, because they can’t afford anything else.