​Steven P. Wallace is associate Center director and co-author of a new fact sheet about the health status of the "hidden poor" -- elderly Californians with incomes above the federal poverty level (FPL), but below what is needed for a decent standard of living. In this brief interview, Wallace discusses policy priorities, why the FPL is outdated, the Elder Index, and more.

Q: Social service programs that support those below the FPL are struggling and have been cut in recent years. Where is the money going to come from to expand these programs to the "hidden poor," as your study suggests should happen?

​Using the Elder Index will not increase resources for those struggling to make ends meet, but we will at least be honest about it. Rather than saying that SSI almost brings older adults up to the poverty line, it is more honest to say that in most counties it brings them to about half of what it costs to support a minimally decent standard of living. And then when we debate alternatives, say tax breaks for millionaire owners of sports teams, or, unlike most other states, not taxing oil extraction, then the tradeoffs are clearer.

Q: Why is the federal poverty level (FPL) outdated?

​The FPL was based on a 1955 survey that found that one-third of a family's income was spent on food. In 1965 the federal government used that to take a minimal food calculation to calculate the poverty line (food budget x 3 = poverty line). That amount has increased by the general inflation level since, but does not reflect the rising standard of living nor the shift from food to housing and, for seniors, health care as major drivers of the cost of living.

By 1995 a federally commissioned study found the FPL outdated, but we continue to use it, and the gap between the official poverty line and the income needed to live has continued to grow.

That's why we developed California's Elder Index with the Insight Center for Community Economic Development as a modern gauge of need that is specific to regional variations in the actual cost of living in today's economy.

Q: The fact sheet focuses on access to care, self-identified depression and self-identified health status. Are the hidden poor also more likely to have illnesses such as diabetes?

​That is a good question. Using AskCHIS©, you can look that up yourself for 2011-2012 and the answer is yes -- rates are higher in the older data. The Elder Index will be available for looking at all the variables in AskCHIS for 2013-2014 in the near future.