WHEREAS, most families seek to provide their frail elders with loving care within the home; and

WHEREAS, it has been shown that this type of comprehensive family care benefits not only the elder family member but strengthens the entire family unit; and

WHEREAS, this kind of comprehensive home health care requires twenty-four-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week coverage; and

WHEREAS, the cost of providing such comprehensive home health care can become prohibitive on a family's budget; and

WHEREAS, this makes working outside of the home nearly impossible for the primary caregiver of the family, further compromising the family budget; and

WHEREAS, difficulties that may result from providing comprehensive home health care to senior family members often require families to make the difficult decision to have their loved one admitted into a nursing home; and

WHEREAS, these nursing home costs often deplete an individual's life savings requiring application for state assistance to cover the costs of nursing home care; and

WHEREAS, the costs of institutional long-term care in Hawaii is $81,000 per year, which adds an enormous fiscal burden on governmental spending and the taxpayers of the State; and

WHEREAS, substantial savings to the State could be realized by paying the family for elder care services provided instead of putting a family member into a nursing home; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, that the Governor is requested to take a leadership role in the development of a system of elder care programs in this State designed to provide a safe, comfortable, joyful, and healthful aging experience for all our seniors, and that this system include not just the family, but the entire community at-large as a resource to assist in the aging process; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Human Services is requested to equally compensate a family member who acts as caregiver to an elderly individual in need of such service and otherwise qualifies for such assistance, and that the "spend down" limits of Medicaid be dramatically raised so that elderly individuals may retain their financial dignity; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Human Services is requested to institute respite care for the family member who serves indefinitely as the caregiver for an elderly family member; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Director of Human Services, the Director of Health, and the Director of the Executive Office on Aging.

Report Title:

Supporting Respectful and Dignified Care for Elders