Hartford Business Journal

12 Hartford Business Journal • July 13, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com State fights to keep aging population healthy, economical By Matt Pilon mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com I n a state where the economy relies heavily on the healthcare industry, an aging population promises to steepen the tilt. In the next 15 years, more than 247,000 Connecticut residents are expected to move into the 65-plus age group, representing a 45 percent increase compared to 2013, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The change will come gradually, but experts say an older population will usher in an era of higher demand for certain healthcare services and the myriad challenges that come along with it, including figuring out how to keep seniors healthy, rein in costs, and attract and train a new and larger generation of doctors. "This is a really big challenge for the state of Connecticut, from a budget perspective and also managing the health of the population too," said Deborah Hoyt, president and CEO of the Connecticut Association for Healthcare at Home. The state has already begun strategizing and experi- menting with ways to lower the high cost of long-term care through its Medicaid program, which spends $1.6 billion annually on nursing homes and institutional care for low- income elderly and disabled residents. In recent years, the state's home health industry has grown significantly, spurred by the cost savings it prom- ises to government and private payers compared to nursing homes or other institutional care. Seeking to better coor- dinate care and keep the money in-house, hospitals too have dipped their toes into the homecare business. Health technology — which carries the promise of better tracking elderly patients' conditions and medication regimens — has become a larger sector in Connecticut, fueled in part by investments made by Connect- icut Innovations, the state's quasi-public investment arm. And in-state drug devel- opers are targeting elderly health conditions. Among them is New Haven biotech Melinta, which has raised more than $280 million to develop its antibiotic aimed at treating drug-resistant infec - tions that affect older patients in particular. Lifespan vs. healthspan The highest and best aim for the state's aging population, according to doctors and state policymakers, is to keep resi- dents as healthy and disability-free as possible as they age. Julia Evans Starr, executive director of the state's nonparti- san Legislative Commission on Aging (LCoA), said there needs to be a shift in the way doctors and others discuss and perceive aging. A large group of people turning 65 is a positive thing if they are relatively healthy, she said. Therefore, Starr added, the focus must be on improving health outcomes, which accomplishes two aims: It creates a higher quality of life for seniors and cuts into the high cost of long-term care, which ripples throughout the healthcare sys- tem in the form of higher premiums and costs for individuals, employers and government. "No one wants to live longer but be sick," said Dr. Lisa Walke, associate chief for clinical affairs in the geriatrics section at Yale School of Medicine. "Everyone wants to be healthy and be able to contribute." UNAMI SILVER S Connecticut's To help rein in healthcare costs from an aging population, Connecticut is pushing for the expansion of homecare services to keep individuals out of higher-cost nursing homes. One challenge the homecare industry faces is lax reimbursements from Medicaid, which makes it difficult to recruit and retain homecare workers. Dr. George Kuchel, a geriatrician, professor and director of UConn Health Center's Center on Aging. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D

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