REPORT: Is Washington A Good Place To Grow Old?

There is new research on the mounting pressure on elderly care services that is being driven by high costs and a growing elderly population accross the U.S.

The results are sobering when it comes to growing old in Washington state.

The study looked at key health indicators to create an "Elderly Care Pressure Score"

, showing the U.S. states where seniors face the greatest care challenges.

The research considers;

• concentration of residents aged 65+ per state
• how many struggle to pay medical bills
• the cost of home health aide

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What Seniors in Washington Face in Paying Medical Bills

Seniors aged 65+ represent 16.3% of the population in Washington. 10.5% of Washington seniors struggle to pay medical bills. The life expectancy is 84.1 years of age for Washington seniors who are age 65 at present. Washington has 15.4 Medicaid-certified nursing homes and 5.6 Medicaid-certified home services available per 100K population. The average annual home health care cost in Washington is estimated at $96,096. The numbers in comparison to all 50 states places Washington as the 8th worst state for growing older in America

It could be worse-- Vermont was scored the worst state to grow old in, with the medical and healthcare pressures seniors are dealing with.

It could be better—Louisiana has the lowest elderly care pressure score, where home health aide costs almost half of Washington's at $50,336 annually and more than double the nursing home availability per capita.

The research was commissioned by a home hospital bed manufacturer Opera Beds and is available on their "Elderly Care Report: The True State of Aging in America"