Minnesota ranks second, behind Washington state, in a new AARP report assessing the types and quality of services aimed at assisting older adults who can't manage on their own.
However, the report issued Wednesday sounds an alarm that even the top states need to step up the pace in addressing problems.
As an unprecedented elder boom approaches, "the pace of change overall remains too slow and has not kept up with demographic demands," it said.
The report found that the nation remains woefully unprepared to handle the coming elder boom, when more Americans will need help doing basic activities such as bathing, cooking or managing medications.
In 2026, the leading edge of the massive baby boom generation will turn 80, when people are six times more likely to be institutionalized or need help with daily living because of physical, cognitive or chronic health conditions.
This is the third report AARP has issued on the topic, offering a benchmark for improvement, the organization said. The reports, which come out every three years, rank states' long-term care services and support programs in such areas as affordability, access, types of settings, quality of life, quality of care and support for family caregivers.
Minnesota ranked first in the previous two scorecards.
This year, Minnesota led the nation in "choice of setting and provider," notably on the state's work helping low-income Minnesotans covered by Medicaid to receive services at their homes rather than in an institution. But it was 19th in "effective transitions," which measured the percent of people who return to the community after long stays at a nursing home.
