Hawaii Long-Term Health-Care Bill Serves as National Model

[KamaAina]

http://prospect.org/article/hawaii-long-term-health-care-bill-serves-national-model

Hawaii may soon become the first state in the union to offer universal long-term care for seniors, as state legislators prepare to roll out a bill that would tackle the nation’s elder care crisis head-on.

Slated for introduction in the 2016 legislative session, Hawaii’s innovative bill could become a national model for states looking for ways to help families afford the high costs of elder care. Across the country, as millions of baby boomers hit retirement age, they are beginning to feel the strain of paying for health care. A full 10,000 Americans have turned 65 every single day since 2011, and will continue to do so until 2030—a trend that is dramatically altering the demographic landscape of the United States.
“Most people simply don’t have the individual means to pay for the care they need.”

“There's an important role for government to play,” says Kevin Simowitz, the political director for Caring Across Generations, a national organization that aims to help people age with dignity and independence. “Most people simply don’t have the individual means to pay for the care they need.”

These population trends have been particularly marked in Hawaii. While the number of seniors aged 75 and older increased by 47 percent nationally between 1990 and 2012, Hawaii saw a 116 percent increase in that age cohort during this same period.

Having spent several years on the sacred 'aina (land; kama'aina means local person, lit. 'child of the land'. Now you know. ), I can assure you that Hawai'i serving as a national model for anything is a rare occasion indeed.

[dhill926]

1. K & R...

this is a really big deal...