It was another great year for kūpuna. Gov. Josh Green signed into law bills that both enhance healthy aging and improve care for the frail. With support from the Council of State Governments Interagency Task Force on Sustainable Long-Term Care, the Kupuna Caucus convened a long-term
care summit of 64 organizations in February 2024, with a focus on a person-centered long-term care continuum of services. Forty-three organizations committed to champion long-term care; addressing workforce shortage; cost and sustainable financing of long-term care and models of a continuum of quality long-term care services. The bills signed by the governor that support programs and services for kūpuna are:
■ Long-term Care Master Plan: HB2224/Act 159 directs the Executive Office on Aging (EOA) to
develop a comprehensive long-term care master plan and provides funding for a full-time long-term care planner.
■ Adult Residential Care Homes: HB2216/Act 20 increases adult residential care home payments.
■ Personal Needs Allowance: HB1974/Act 18 increases care home residents’ monthly personal
needs allowance from $50 to $75. It had not been raised since 2007.
■ Silver Alert Program: SB2305/Act 158 directs the Department of Law Enforcement to establish
a silver alert program to help locate missing persons 65 or older, cognitively impaired or developmentally disabled.
■ General Excise Tax Exemption: SB1035/Act 47 exempts medical and dental care providers treating patients on Medicaid, Medicare and Tricare from the GET, making providers more available to serve the vulnerable.
■ In the State Budget: HB1800 funds two programs to support community kūpuna: 1) increases fee reimbursement rates for Adult Day Care and Adult Day Health community-based programs and 2) funds $400,000 for Healthy Aging Partnership’s “Better Choices, Better Health” and “Enhance Fitness” programs on Kaua‘i, Maui, Hawai‘i and Honolulu counties.
WHAT’S NEXT:
During the interim (between now and next session), we can review the bills left on the table or others from previous sessions. What were the concerns raised? Can we amend the bill to address those concerns or return with more data and experience to show why the bill is needed?
Work during the interim will also focus on long-term care. The last long-term care plan was adopted in 1988. It’s time to plan forward, and with the 43 champions and others, to come up with
a plan and priorities to ensure our kūpuna live quality lives in the community or in institutions.
If you want to work on these or other kūpuna issues, contact Kupuna Caucus Co-chairs: Sen.
Sharon Moriwaki (senmoriwaki@capitol.hawaii .gov) or Rep. Cory Chun (repchun@capitol.hawaii
.gov); or State EOA Director Caroline Cadirao (caroline.cadirao@doh.hawaii.gov).
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