Two bills that stand to improve the well-being of aging islanders were signed into law last week by Gov. Josh Green: one aimed at improving the quality of health care for Hawaii residents living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias; the other extending rental support for Hawaii’s older residents. This commitment to islanders’ well-being is necessary; it’s also a welcome display of responsible governance, in contrast with a federal budget bill that threatens to withhold access to health care and other services aiding the nations’ most vulnerable.
About 15% of Hawaii’s Medicaid (Med-Quest) recipients are over 65 and/or disabled, with limited incomes and resources. Pullbacks in Medicaid spending in the federal budget bill, amounting to more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years, threaten to impact the quality and availability of in-home or nursing home care for Medicaid recipients, as well as individuals’ access to treatment — all potential lifelines for individuals with Alzheimer’s, or older residents with extremely limited incomes. As the implications of this “big, beautiful bill” play out, however, Senate Bill 1252 and House Bill 703 provide welcome evidence of our state’s ongoing commitment to supporting Hawaii’s kupuna.
>> SB 1252 appropriates $1.5 million over two years to the University of Hawaii’s John A. Burns School of Medicine, charging the medical school with developing a dementia curriculum and specialized geriatric training for UH students who will care for those with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. The updated training is expected to improve the quality of care for individuals living with dementia and to also build a capable, local workforce trained to provide this high-quality care, adding to career opportunities in the state.
>> HB 703 extends the sunset date for the state’s rent supplement program for kupuna, from 2026 to 2028. The program, established in 2023, continues to be necessary, just as the Legislature’s 2023 finding that Hawaii’s aging residents face “significant risk” of homelessness sadly continues to hold true.
Benefits to Hawaii’s residents from these bills far outweigh costs, by strengthening Hawaii’s health care system and helping to ensure Hawaii’s aging population has access to secure housing as well. As AARP Hawaii’s Audrey Suga-Nakagawa rightly observed, “Together, these bills honor the dignity of Hawaii’s older adults and build a more resilient age-friendly community.”
SB 1252 falls short of adopting the Alzheimer’s Association’s call to establish an Alzheimer’s Research Center at UH, but that would require stable federal funding — not a solid expectation in 2025.
Nonetheless, the university and state leaders must seek out opportunities to create such a research center in Hawaii, as science demands it: Hawaii has the highest proportions of Asian American and Pacific Islander populations in the U.S., this, along with Hawaii’s place in the Pacific, uniquely positions a research center here as a locus for Alzheimer’s research. And Alzheimer’s disease is a serious concern nationwide, as one of the top 10 causes of death in the U.S. and the fifth leading cause of death among adults aged 65 or older.
The Alzheimer’s Association and the University of Hawaii estimate that 31,000 people aged 65 and older in Hawaii live with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia — and that number is expected to grow as the population ages. About $240 million out of the state’s annual Medicaid budget is spent on care for these kupuna.
Currently, many health care providers report receiving “minimal” training on dementia care, and SB 1252 will increase state capacity to provide the high-quality, complex care required. HB 703 complements the state’s efforts to care for our kupuna, helping ensure Hawaii’s seniors don’t face homelessness as another barrier to well-being.
Source: The Garden Island