On Tuesday, January 14, New York Governor Kathy Hochul presented her annual State of the State address. Nora OBrien-Suric, PhD, President of the Health Foundation for Western & Central New York, offers this response:
“In a speech focusing on two core themes—affordability and safety—Governor Hochul included several initiatives designed to help children and young families. Whether through economic relief, child care support, nutritious food, or gun safety and violence prevention, these measures can address the social determinants of health, which play a critical role in health outcomes and health equity.
These efforts are to be applauded. Unfortunately, one important part of our community was conspicuously absent from her remarks: older adults.
A comprehensive consortium of leaders has been working with New York State for several years on a state Master Plan for Aging. However, the plan, healthy aging, and the vast needs of older adults were not mentioned during the State of the State. This is a significant oversight as New York ranks fourth in the nation for the number of residents age 60 and over.
We urge the governor to recognize that the needs of older adults are important—to all of us, as we are all aging. Developing a state where people can thrive at any age is essential to our future social and economic success. We can’t afford to leave older adults out of these conversations any longer.
We look forward to reviewing the 2025-26 state budget proposal when it is released. We are hopeful that Gov. Hochul’s budget will demonstrate her commitment to the well-being of older adults by including the necessary resources to implement a strong Master Plan for Aging and fully funding the services that older New Yorkers rely on every day.”
On the day after Governor Hochul gave her spoken remarks, the 2025 State of the State online book was released. You can read it here.
