STAND. COM. REP. NO. 867

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.C.R. No. 5

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 5 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING A STUDY OF VARIOUS UNRESOLVED ISSUES RELATING TO AGING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to request the Executive Office on Aging and the Center on Aging at the University of Hawaii at Manoa to continue research and analyses to:

     (1)  Develop a cash and counseling model and to apply for related grants;

     (2)  Determine how best to compensate caregivers for necessary personal services;

     (3)  Determine best practices for state agencies to collaborate and coordinate with area agencies on aging and local community service providers (including those for the disabled community);

     (4)  Enhance funding from all sources for Medicaid and Medicare services, including but not limited to, removing or adjusting income limits and non-exempt asset limitations;

     (5)  Determine how best to accommodate language barriers;

     (6)  Determine how best to overcome access to long-term care services barriers; and

     (7)  Identify more funding sources for long-term care services.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Office of Language Access and the Executive Office on Aging.  Written testimony presented to the Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

     Your Committee finds that several states currently implement cash and counseling programs, which allow participants to use their Medicare-provided personal assistance monies to hire their own personal care aides and to purchase items or services.  Your Committee finds that these cash and counseling programs allow people to "age in place" and to hire their friends or relatives as caregivers.  However, despite some financial support through cash and counseling programs, family caregivers are usually paid lower-than-average wages for a small fraction of the hours of service they actually provide.

     Accordingly, your Committee encourages the Executive Office on Aging and the Center on Aging at the University of Hawaii at Manoa to continue research and analysis on cash and counseling programs, caregiver compensation, overcoming language barriers for over forty-five thousand elderly people of limited English proficiency, and best practices to allow the elderly and disabled to access long-term care services.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive changes for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 5, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 5, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services,

____________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair