Care Plus best solution for long-term care

I strongly support the state-sponsored long-term care insurance program often called Care Plus.

My wife and I both have private insurance, but I am aware that only about 6 percent of the population has this coverage. Many people, especially older adults, either cannot afford such insurance or would not qualify because of pre-existing health problems.

Care Plus would allow all Hawaii citizens to obtain a modest amount of help in meeting the costs of long-term care. Such care can be very expensive, and after using up savings, frail and disabled people will be forced to turn to Medicaid, if they qualify.

Care Plus represents the best practical solution to this problem at this time.

Tony Lenzer

Even younger people need long-term care

The proposed state long-term care program will answer a need that all families and individuals eventually may encounter. We dare not ignore this opportunity to fill one of the most vital needs in our community. We must act now for the benefit of ourselves as well as our cherished family members.

The need for long-term care is not exclusive to the elderly. A family with which I am acquainted has a teenage son who had a brain aneurysm that left him incapacitated, needing long-term care and therapy. A member of my church is in a wheelchair for the same reason. He was in apparent robust health when he too had a brain aneurysm when he was in his early 40s and needed long-term care. Life is unpredictable and a long-term care program can provide reassurance that every citizen of Hawaii needs, not only those affected by the infirmities of old age that will come to each of us.

Let's do now what we can to protect ourselves and our families.

Andrea Harris
Kailua

Ending quarantine has its down side

Two days after the bill to end quarantine was in the news, a child was bitten here by a dog. I once saw the body of a neighborhood child mauled to death by four dogs, and I believe such dangers and other factors should be considered before changing the law.

With fewer pet-importation restrictions will come more noise at all hours from more cats and dogs, more animal urine and excrement to be encountered and an increase in taxes for more services, including euthanasia of animals abandoned by people moving to the mainland.

We should also expect more bird kills by cats and more animals hit by vehicles.

Am I an animal hater? I've been an A.S.P.C.A. member, owe part of my higher education to the sale of purebred collies, and have enjoyed repeated visits by a moose, fox, ermine and other creatures. Directly upon moving to Maui three years ago I volunteered at the animal shelter and -- move over Dick Burton and Liz Taylor -- I even once tamed a shrew (I swear it).

So put down the torches and pitchforks, pet lovers, and volunteer to walk some shelter animals into the killing room before you champion a move that will greatly increase Hawaii's pet populations.

Richard Mealey
Kihei, Maui

TheBus' Express is far from it

One reason the traffic is so bad in Honolulu is because TheBus is a viable means of transportation only as a last resort. Consider the B Express. It is supposed to leave Kapiolani Park every 15 minutes. However, bus drivers are routinely instructed to skip their route altogether and return on the H-1 so they can keep on schedule. That means passengers waiting for the "B" can expect delays of 30 minutes or longer -- without any notice. Why this isn't a scandal, I cannot imagine.

Any person with half a brain, a need to be anywhere at a reliable time and enough money to afford a car has no incentive to engage in this daily Russian roulette. Thus, people drive and turn the H-1 into a parking lot.

Congratulations to TheBus. After exposing me to one too many mornings of helpless uncertainty, it is turning another conscientious citizen into an auto commuter. Maybe I'll finally be able to catch a glimpse of the "B Express" -- now that I'll be on the freeway, too.

Joseph L. Lemon Jr.

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