It’s getting harder to grow old in Massachusetts, new data from the University of Massachusetts Boston shows.

In 2016, an elder couple with a mortgage could meet their basic needs with $48,108 a year, according to the index. Last year, those same basic needs cost $50,604.

“That's a pretty meaningful jump in expenses for people, many of whom are living on a fairly low income to begin with, and also an income that doesn't increase very much over time,” said Jan Mutchler, director of the UMass Boston Gerontology Institute, which publishes the Elder Economic Security Standard Index.

Annual health care costs have risen to $5,580 per person, according to the index.

Currently, elders who make more than $1,000 each month are not qualified for MassHealth Medicaid coverage, said Pam Edwards, director of organizing for advocacy group Massassachusetts Senior Action Council.

This means they are likely to make difficult health care choices, Edwards said. She said she worked with two women who chose to split the cost of a single inhaler and share its doses because neither could afford one individually.

Over 200,000 Massachusetts elders could not afford their basic needs in 2016, Mutchler said. That number has most likely increased, but UMASS Boston has not yet calculated the new total number of Massachusetts seniors who can’t afford basic needs.

Created by the UMass Boston Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging, the Elder Economic Security Standard Index is a nationwide, county-by-county measure of the yearly income elders need to meet daily living costs and live independently in their own homes. Costs of living increased in all six housing categories used by the index.

Even as costs of living for elders are going up, both nonprofit organizations and the state are working to lessen Massachusetts elders’ economic burdens.

Mass Senior Action is campaigning to raise the maximum income limit for seniors to qualify for state-funded healthcare from $1,000 to $1,700 a month. That would allow tens of thousands of elders to save thousands of dollars on healthcare costs in the first year, Edwards said.

Gov. Charlie Baker has proposed expanding eligibility for state-supported healthcare by about 40,000 people, said Thomas Lyons, spokesman for the Executive Office of Elder Affairs.

The state is also working to lower housing costs for elders, which can be over $22,000 depending on the type of housing and number of people.

State-subsidized elder housing is often on high-value land and there can be a four to 10 year wait for a unit, said Edwards.

Baker has also proposed Housing Choices legislation that would change Massachusetts zoning requirements to make it easier to build in-law apartments — officially known as accessory dwelling units.

“These small units would make it possible for people to move family members into their homes, or allows older residents an opportunity to stay in their home by generating revenue by renting those units,” Lyons said.

Sophia Brown is an intern at the New England Center for Investigative Reporting, a non-profit news center based at Boston University and WGBH News.