HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 149 Draft 01 1994-1996COUNTY OF HAWAII STATE OF HAWAII
RESOLUTION N0. 149 95
SUPPORTING THE HAWAII LONG-TERM CARE REFORM TASK FORCE.
WHEREAS, there aze currently approximately three hundred Fifty patients statewide,
inappropriately confined to hospital beds awaiting placement in nursing facilities which cost
Hawaii's hospitals in excess of $200,000 daily; and
WHEREAS, much of this cost is not reimbursed to hospitals and remains as
uncompensated care, which cost is passed on to private-paying patients; and
WHEREAS, while Hawaii's families have expressed a preference for home and
community-based caze, the existing supplies of these services aze also well below requisite
levels; and
WHEREAS, even if additional services were to be made available, the continually rising
costs of long-term Gaze services and the specter of the depletion of the financial resources of
persons needing long-term care limit the availability of these services to many of Hawaii's
people; and
WHEREAS, to accommodate the demands of Gaze giving, which grows as dependency
increases, family caregivers often work reduced hours, adjust or abandon career and personal
goals, and retire eazlier than intended, which, in turn, lowers their own pension and retirement
benefit level; moreover, as caregivers are more apt to be in fair to poor health than the general
public, caregivers often find that they have placed their own advanced years at risk; and
WHEREAS, the average annual nursing home charges exceed the ability of most of
Hawaii's families to pay as these charges are often twice the average annual disposable income of
elderly families, threatening those who are otherwise self-sufficient with impoverishment, thus, it is
not surprising that more than eighty percent of all nursing facility residents are dependent upon
Medicaid; and
WHEREAS, by 2020, the elderly will constitute more than one-forth of Hawaii's adult
population, with nearly one-third of this segment alone expected to have functional disabilities; and
WHEREAS, even if the number of nursing home beds is expanded, they maybe
unaffordable if financial reimbursement is not available; and
WHEREAS, the Hawaii State Legislature has established the Hawaii Long-Term Care
Reform Task Force to explore how planning for long-term care services can incorporate the cost
saving principal of managed care while maintaining the optimum quality of care.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the County of Hawaii that it strongly
supports the Hawaii Long-Term Caze Reform Task Force and its efforts to examine ways in which
the long-term care financing program can be made affordable, cover as broad a segment of the
population as is feasible, significantly offset the Medicaid long-term caze costs, be financially stable
over time, and offer a comprehensive and cost-effective benefit package with both institutional and
home and community-based care options; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council encourages the participation and
cooperation of the Hawaii County Administration as needed to facilitate the work of the Hawaii
Long-Term Care Reform Task Force; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of Hawaii County transmit copies of this
Resolution to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the
Hawaii State Legislature, and the Mayor of the County of Hawaii.
Dated at Hilo, Hawaii, this 17th day of July 1995.
INTRODUCED BY:
r
COUNCII, MEMBER, CO TY OF HAWAII
Tnicrs
COUNTY COUNCIL ~ ROLL CALL VOTE
County of Hawaii AYES NOES ABS
Hilo, Hawaii ~ ~ -~-
I hereby certify that the foregoing RESOLUTION was by the
vote indicated to the right hereof adopted by the COUNCIL of
the County of Hawaii on _ July 17, 1995
EX
Arakaki X
Bonk-Abramson }{
Childs }{
De Lima }{
Domingo X
Osorio }{
ATTEST: ~~~~~~ mod' X
Smith X
~~ j~ea^1., , Ray X
8 0 1 0
Reference C-5 Counci
COUNTY CLERK CHAIRMAN & PRESIDING OFFICER RESOLUTION NO. 1-~ 9 9S