CARING FOR KUPUNA
RESPECTING OUR ELDERS.

Our kupuna deserve our respect.

 

Hawai'i has one of the nation's fastest aging populations. By 2035, nearly 1 out of every 3 residents of our state will be over the age of 60. Roughly 30 percent of households in the islands are headed by someone over the age of 65. Yet, we only have about half the number of affordable housing units that we need for seniors living on fixed incomes.

​

We must increase the supply of affordable housing for kupuna and expand access to rental assistance for senior citizens. I will also fight to fund essential elder services, like the Kupuna Caregivers program, that provide invaluable financial help for home-baed senior care. 

​

Additionally, I will make affordable healthcare a priority for our community. Our kupuna should not be burdened by the cost of essential medical treatments. I will support efforts to exempt medical services from the general excise tax.

 

And I will champion proposals to reduce out-of-pocket health care costs, improve our state's health insurance assistance program, expand access to telehealth services, and boost preventive and mental health programs for seniors.