OLDEST OLD WOMEN: ENDANGERED BY GOVERNMENT CUTBACKS?

This paper analyzes the situation of women 85 and over using the United States Census public use sample for 1990 involving individual census records of 154,008 women and men It provides weighted population estimates. Data is presented on the oldest disability levels for men and women, the level of economic need, living arrangements, and access to a car. International comparisons from the Luxembourg Income study of elderly men and women's poverty level are also examined. Current proposals in the United States for cutbacks at the federal level in health care, income assistance and social services are examined with respect to their disproportional impact on oldest old women.