Based on a new calcuation index, Nevada, Plumas, and Sierra Counties have one of the highest percentages of senior citizens struggling to make ends meet. The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research says more than 300-thousand elderly Californians are at the Federal Poverty Line. But that number more than triples to over a-million, when the Center also counts the so-called “hidden poor”. What’s called the “elder index” is included in a new study from the Center. Lead author Imelda Padilla-Frausto says the Federal Poverty Line for the three-county region is over 12-percent. But it’s over 42-percent, with their “elder index”. She says it’s mainly due to the high housing and medical costs…

click to listen to Imelda Padillo-Frausto

Frausto says the purpose of her study is to provide a more accurate picture of poverty in California, with local living costs not taken into consideration by the Federal government…

click to listen to Imelda Padilla-Frausto

Frausto says a single elderly renter must make at least 20-thousand dollars a year to cover living costs in Nevada County. But it’s over 46-thousand dollars for an elderly couple with a mortgage. She also says there are increasing numbers of households where younger generations are living with grandparents.