DEPARTMENT:

Letter
from the Editor

Senior Issues: A 2006 Legislative Summary

Ninety proposals addressing senior issues were up for discussion at this year’s legislative session. Below, Wes Lum, specialist at the University of Hawaii Center on Aging and coordinator of the state’s Caregiver’s Resource Initiative Project, summarizes the 15 measures that passed. The rest either didn’t pass or were tabled (call the Public Access Room at 587-0478 for information on these).

Family Caregiving

Training and Education (H.B. No. 1900). Enables family caregivers to receive ongoing education and training in order to meet their caregiving responsibilities and assures a highly qualified and sustainable eldercare workforce by appropriating $206,000 to Kapiolani Community College to establish a Long-Term Care Training Initiative for para-professional and family caregivers.

Respite Services (S.B. No. 3252). Provides respite for families by appropriating $500,000 to expand the statewide Kupuna Care Program, which is geared for older adults who can’t live at home without help from family or other resources. Services include adult day care, transportation, home-delivered meals, and assistance with chores and hygiene.

Coordination of Family Caregiver Support Services and Policies (S.B. No. 3252). Ensures that families will have the affordable, readily available, high quality, comprehensive assistance they need by appropriating $80,000 to the Executive Office on Aging to coordinate caregiver support services and policies statewide.

Legislative Leadership (S.B. No. 3253). Facilitates the development of comprehensive public policy to strengthen support for family caregivers by establishing a Joint Legislative Committee on Family Caregiving.

Balancing Work and Caregiving (S.C.R. No. 13). Requests that the Governor convene a Work-Family Task Force to review Hawaii’s work-family laws and policies, and requests that the Legislative Reference Bureau study other states’ laws and practices that promote good work-family policy.

Eldercare Residential Homes/Facilities

Criminal History Record Checks (S.B. No. 2343). Ensures the safety of elderly and disabled persons by authorizing the Departments of Health and Human Services to conduct criminal background checks of persons providing care or having access to elderly and disabled residents of health-care facilities.

Long-Term Home Care Services (S.B. No. 3254). Ensures that individuals receiving services from home- and community-based case management agencies and community care foster family homes get continued quality care at reasonable costs by permanently establishing the statutory authority for the licensing and certification of home- and community-based case management agencies and community care foster family homes.

Increased Level of Payments (H.B. No. 1821). Adequately compensates adult residential care home operators by increasing the maximum level of care payments for various home- and community-based facilities.

Increased Capacity (S.B. No. 3247). Authorizes the Department of Health (DOH) to increase residential capacity in care homes, provided that the primary caregiver or care home operator is a certified nurse aide and has completed additional state-approved training required by the DOH.

Long-Term Care Infrastructure Plan (S.C.R. No. 144). Enables interested stakeholders to examine the challenges facing the state’s aging population, review available services, analyze existing state and county laws and regulations, consider the current long-term care bed capacity and projections for future needs, and develop a long-term care infrastructure plan to ensure public safety while supporting aging-in-place initiatives.

Prescription Drugs

Hawaii Pharmacy Assistance Program (S.B. No. 3003). Enables more people to qualify for the State Pharmacy Assistance Program by extending the income eligibility requirement to 150% of the Federal Poverty Level.

Social Security and Medicare

Medicare Part D (H.C.R. No. 80). Requests the President and Congress of the United States to adopt changes to the Medicare Part D program.

Social Security (S.C.R. No. 6). Urges the federal government to avoid privatization of Social Security because of possible financial and economic perils.

Kupuna and Caregiver Recognition

Kupuna Recognition Day (H.B. No. 3217). Recognizes the significant role that older adults play in Hawaii’s culture, history and traditions by designating the fourth Saturday of July as Kupuna Recognition Day.

Caregiver’s Month (S.C.R. No. 204). Designates the month of March as Caregiver’s Month in Hawaii.
If you’re concerned about an issue that still requires legislative action, make sure your voice is heard next year.

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