Senior couple sues the state over laws that separate them

A senior couple filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Thursday seeking to invalidate state laws that prevent them from living together in the same licensed care home.

Noboru Kawamoto, 95, and his wife, Elaine, 89, have been married for 68 years. Both require nursing-level care and want to live out their twilight years together.

But for the past two years, Noboru Kawamoto, a World War II and 442nd Regimental Combat Team veteran, has lived in a foster family care home in Kaneohe while his wife has lived in an adult residential care facility in Punaluu.

That’s because state licensing laws and related administrative rules prohibit community care foster family homes from having more than one private-pay client, like the Kawamotos. Spouses on Medicaid, however, may live in the same home.

The Kawamotos contend that limiting private-pay clients to one in a home is unconstitutional. They filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Thursday seeking to invalidate the laws and block Gov. David Ige, state Health Director Virginia Pressler and state Human Services Director Rachel Wong from enforcing them.

Sidney and Terry Kaide were in a similar situation in 2009 when state lawmakers approved a temporary exception that allowed them to live together until Sidney Kaide died later that year. The exception was in place for two years, and lawmakers didn’t renew it.

In response to the Kawamotos’ plight, lawmakers considered legislation last year to renew the exception and make it permanent. The legislation stalled, so lawmakers took it up again this year.

Pressler and Wong opposed changing the law and in a letter to lawmakers in April said there are other options that would allow the Kawamotos to live together. They said Noboru Kawamoto can move into the same facility where his wife lives. Alternatively, they said, the Kaneohe care home operator can seek the same kind of certification as the Punaluu facility, which has no private-pay restrictions.

Lawmakers did not approve the proposed legislation.

The Kawamotos’ lawyer Jeffrey Portnoy said, “Sure, there are other options. But that’s not the point.”

He said it is unconstitutional to allow spouses on Medicaid to live together in a state-licensed care home but deny the same access to private-pay clients. He also said the Punaluu facility does not provide the level of care Noboru Kawamoto requires.

A spokeswoman for Ige said the state had not been served with the lawsuit and had no comment.