EDITORIAL
CarePlus deserves to be kept moving

Gov. Linda Lingle promises to veto a bill to provide limited state-sponsored long-term-care benefits through a $10-a-month payroll tax.

Her objection is that it's "a tax on all the people of Hawai'i for no immediate benefit." But that's precisely the point of insurance. There is rarely any immediate gratification.

Under the "CarePlus" plan, full eligibility for benefits would follow a 10-year vesting period, paying for a year of long-term care assistance at $70 a day in today's dollars. Consumers can choose the services they need.

Nonetheless, Lingle favors state tax credits for purchasing private long-term-care insurance. That may work as an incentive for some, but it also leaves many elderly Islanders at the mercy of free-market forces. Let's face it: If you don't have the money and you don't have the health, it's hard to get private long-term-care insurance.

Nearly one in four Islanders will be 65 years of age or older by 2020. That's quite a tsunami on the horizon. Clearly, private long-term insurance is not in everyone's financial reach, costing more than $3,000 a year.

At least CarePlus would provide a basic safety net, including supplemental care such as home help. As states around the nation grapple with the increasing costs of nursing homes and care homes, we support a long-term-care plan that will help more people live out their sunset years at home.