Coalition for
long-term care
disbandsThe group blames Gov. Lingle's
veto of the "Care Plus" bill
A coalition that worked 10 years to create an affordable long-term care plan for island residents has disbanded.
"We're just worn out," said steering committee member Laura Manis, "and we don't see any sign of any progress in the very near future."
The Coalition for Affordable Long Term Care worked with the state administration, Legislature, state agencies and community groups to develop a long-term care program that would finance home and institutional care and community-based services.
It achieved part of its goal this year when the Legislature passed the "Care Plus" long-term care bill. However, Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed the measure, saying it wouldn't adequately address long-term care needs and was unfair to employers.
Lingle had proposed a 30 percent tax credit for those who buy private long-term care insurance, but it was reduced in the bill to a small tax credit.
When Lingle vetoed Care Plus, "10 years of effort by the coalition, hundreds of citizens and the Hawaii State Legislature appear to have been wasted," the coalition said in a special bulletin announcing it dissolved Nov. 10.
"Many of us experienced great frustration and disappointment, especially since the need for long-term services increases every year and the cost of such services continues to be beyond the reach of most of Hawaii's citizens."
State Human Services Director Lillian Koller said, "Because one particular strategy didn't seem the right thing to do at that time, in that particular fashion, doesn't mean there is no interest or commitment by this administration (to long-term care). That couldn't be further from the mark."
Koller said the administration is looking at expanding options and choices to meet long-term care needs.
For instance, she said, 300 people have left hospitals since mid-June in a "going-home project" initiated under a policy change to allow Medicaid payments to be shifted from acute to community-based care.
With Hawaii's lack of nursing beds and fast-growing aging population, Koller said, "Nothing's off the table. Everything's being looked at now."
Manis said thousands of people were involved in the Coalition for Affordable Long Term Care over the past decade. It had a mailing list of 3,500, including 41 organizations that disseminated news to their members, she said.
Members will continue to support any long-term care proposal that comes up, Manis said. They have been invited to join Kokua Council and the Hawaii Alliance for Retired Americans.
Ruth-Ellen Lindenberg, who heads the Kokua Council, said the long-term care coalition's breakup is "one of the saddest things that could happen. It was the best coming together in the community I have seen, a real community organization."
"We always testified for them," she said. "We were into the issue deeply. It is not going to go away."