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Maryland is home to nearly 1.4 million people over the age of 60, and according to our most recent State Plan on Aging, we will see considerable growth in the older adult population in the next two decades. In fact, this age group is expected to grow to 1.7 million by 2040. Additionally, the population of Marylanders over the age of 85 will more than double in the same time period. This means Maryland’s next governor must be prepared to expand public long-term services and supports across health care, housing and transportation. Our next governor will also need to be prepared to address growing concerns around elder abuse, exploitation, and fraud in order to protect aging Marylanders.
Every Marylander deserves the opportunity to age comfortably and with dignity, honoring their lives and contributions to
our state. As governor, Wes will:
- Improve state and local service delivery for Maryland’s seniors by filling vacancies and increasing staffing levels at Maryland’s Department of Aging (MDOA), educating the public about the services offered by MDOA, and strengthening the Maryland Access Point, our state’s No Wrong Door single point of entry service.
- Improve access to affordable housing and support seniors’ ability to safely age-in-place by funding additional slots and reducing wait times for the Community Options Waiver so seniors have access to home-based care, increasing access to remote patient monitoring, expanding access to funding for accessible home modifications and finding new ways to provide financial support to family caregivers.
- Lower the cost of prescription drugs by empowering the Prescription Drug Affordability Board to review costs and set limits for prescription drugs, exploring bulk purchasing pools, and leveraging the state’s purchasing power to drive down costs.
- Improve existing long-term care facilities by leveraging federal dollars to ensure better oversight and compliance, addressing staffing shortages and fighting for better wages for nursing home staff.
- Combat elder abuse, exploitation, and fraud by partnering with community organizations to increase training for older Marylanders about their rights, as well as home health care workers, law enforcement officers and family members so they can more easily recognize and report these incidents.