HB1486

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1486
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO THE KUPUNA CARE PROGRAM.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Hawaii's aging population, like that of the United States', is rapidly increasing as more and more residents born during the baby boom era of 1946-1964 turn sixty years of age. Between 2010 and 2020, the percentage of the State's population over the age of sixty-five increased from 14.3 per cent to nineteen per cent and is projected to reach 22.6 per cent by 2030. Within the same decade, the number of people over the age of eighty-five increased by more than a third, from 30,238 people to 41,600. The significant increase in Hawaii's elder population and the concomitant increase in demand for services, particularly those that allow for aging in place, require an ongoing commitment to ensure that Hawaii's kupuna are adequately cared for.

The legislature further finds that the kupuna care program was enacted in 1999 to help frail and vulnerable seniors age in place by leading independent, meaningful, and dignified lives in their own homes and communities. One of the principles of the program is that long-term care should be available to everyone, regardless of government or private insurance coverage or eligibility for other assistance programs, such as medicaid and supportive and nutrition services under title III of the Older Americans Act. The kupuna care program is considered an alternative to traditional long-term care options and uses state funds to provide a continuum of home and community-based supports to form a safety net for all kupuna and their caregivers.

The legislature further finds that access to the kupuna care program for all seniors is necessary to maintain a consistent continuum of care for vulnerable older persons, particularly as individuals' access to resources, support systems, and capacity change over time. The most successful aging in place programs recognize and build upon integrated health and social services. Kupuna care consists of nine core services that support individuals in need of assistance to perform some of the basic and instrumental activities of daily living. Basic activities of daily living include transferring from bed to chair, moving about within the home, bathing, dressing, toileting, and eating. Instrumental activities of daily living include preparing a meal, shopping, managing medications, washing laundry, using the telephone, managing money, housekeeping, and using available transportation. Kupuna care also provides core services, including personal care, homemaking, chores, home-delivered meals, adult day care, case management, assisted transportation, regular transportation, and attendant care.

In addition to these services, kupuna care clients may select services from a contracted provider or have the option for a participant-directed approach to home and community-based services. Individuals who are assessed and deemed eligible for kupuna care core services will have services authorized based on the needs identified within their respective individual support plans. In the participant-directed model, an individual exercises decision-making authority to use an allotment of public funds to purchase and manage a wide array of supports that meet the individual's unique needs and complement the ongoing efforts of family caregivers and the individual's personal and financial resources.

The legislature further finds that funding for the kupuna care program is critical as the population aged sixty and older rapidly increases. The additional funding provided by this Act would enable the executive office on aging to target and triage additional clients according to each individual's needs by utilizing the comprehensive person-centered intake and assessment tools developed statewide for targeting public supports to persons with the greatest need.

The purpose of this Act is to appropriate funds to the department of health for the kupuna care program.

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2023-2024 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2024-2025 for the kupuna care program within the executive office on aging.

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of health for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2023.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________