Gathering Place
By Ruth Ellen Lindenberg
Long-term care tax plan
has widespread supportSenior citizens often look ahead while younger citizens think only of today. That's why the senior citizens of the Kokua Council support the long-term care financing plan now awaiting Governor Lingle's signature or veto. Senior citizens, understanding the issues their families may face in the future, have shown their willingness to pay the long-term care tax, even though they personally are unlikely to benefit from it.
Recent press coverage has been less than congratulatory, stressing that the $10-per-month tax is likely to increase over time. Little or nothing is being said about the help that the plan can give to families facing the need to care for aging baby boomers whose life expectancies have been extended by advances in medicine. And the plan is actuarily sound; two renowned national actuary firms have studied the plan and given it their endorsement.
The people who are carping the loudest about the plan's inadequacies don't seem to understand how much the govern- ment is now paying for long-term care. More than three-fourths of our nursing-home population is paid for by Medicaid, the federal and state medical program that takes over when low- and middle-income families' resources run out. This is not a free deal; it is a direct subsidy paid for by taxpayers. Recognizing this, and finding a way to share the cost by a prepayment from those in their working years, is prudent long-term planning.
Looking ahead, there are two direct results from the state plan that will benefit the community. First, it asks that individuals start to put aside money so they will take responsibility for their own future needs instead of being subsidized by Medicaid. Having lived in Hawaii for 25 years, I am awed by the respect our residents have for their families. Do we recognize what a subsidy can mean to a struggling family? It's true that the $70 a day (for one year) that the plan provides will not cover the price of nursing-home care, which now costs $70,000 a year. But $70 a day can enable families to hire in-home help, buy equipment and afford private long-term care insurance.
Second, as long-term care assistance kicks in, it will stimulate the development of new community programs that enable people who need help to remain in their own homes, which is what most of us would prefer.
Older seniors not likely to benefit from this innovative long-term care program have shown their willingness to pay into a plan that will benefit their children. By signifying that nursing-home care is not the only answer, the program will move the community in the direction of other creative alternatives such as better home care, respite care and supported self-care. This plan is a courageous first step.
As it passed through the House and Senate, this bill had supporters from both political parties. Both Republicans and Democrats are members of the Kokua Council. The governor may be sorely tempted to veto the bill. We ask that she think of the close vote in the Legislature, sign the bill and let us know that she is working for all of us -- let us know that she can be truly nonpartisan on vital issues.
Ruth Ellen Lindenberg is president of the Kokua Council, a community advocacy organization.