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Video: Californians feel the pain
Once flourishing US state's ongoing budget woes threat the elderly population.
Last Modified: 19 Oct 2009 21:00 GMT



Elderly Californians hit hard by healthcare cuts


The issue of healthcare is the focus in the second part of Al Jazeera's special series on the once-flourishing state of California.

FROM THE BLOGS
California: America's first failed state?
By Rob Reynolds in The Americas Blog
It may not be the largest US state, but it has by far the most people and the numbers are growing fast.

By the year 2020, 14 per cent of the US population will be in California.

That is one out of every seven Americans, many of whom will be elderly.

Six million Californians are already over the age of 60, and that number is set to double in the next 10 years.

But it is the elderly who have been some of the hardest hit by spending cuts, aimed at reducing a $26bn deficit.

More than $260 million have been cut from a statewide programme, providing support for the elderly at home.

Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds reports on the situation that is becoming more acute with every passing day.

Source:
Al Jazeera
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