STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1304

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.C.R. No. 199
                                        




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Health and Human Services and
Transportation and Intergovernmental Affairs, to which was
referred S.C.R. No. 199 entitled:

     "SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING THE UNITED STATES
     CONGRESS, THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND THE
     SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES TO SUPPORT THE HAWAII
     CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION'S EFFORT TO AMEND THE SOCIAL
     SECURITY ACT TO INCREASE HAWAII'S FEDERAL MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
     PERCENTAGE (FMAP),"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to urge the United States
Congress, the President of the United States, and the Secretary
of Health and Human Services to support the Hawaii Congressional
Delegation's efforts to amend the Social Security Act to increase
Hawaii's federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP).

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this
measure from the Department of Human Services (DHS), Department
of Accounting and General Services (DAGS), State Planning Council
on Developmental Disabilities, and Healthcare Association of
Hawaii. 

     The federal government bases its payment to states for the
Medicaid program on FMAP, which is a formula that yields the per
capita income for a state.  However, Hawaii's inordinately high
cost of living is not reflected in FMAP.  This measure requests
support to change the FMAP formula for Hawaii, which would result

 
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in Hawaii receiving more Medicaid funds from the federal
government.

     According to DAGS, the State currently recovers about $20
million under FMAP.  An increase in the FMAP rate for Hawaii
would bring in additional federal dollars of about $7 million per
year for each percentage point increase.  Your Committees believe
that the State stands to gain a huge amount of federal money
through an increase in the FMAP rate for Hawaii.

     According to DHS, the increase in federal moneys for Hawaii
would partially off-set the anticipated cutback in federal
funding due to the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which is
estimated to be 29 per cent in the next five years that would
require additional general funds to maintain levels of services
required for adequate health care.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your
Committees on Health and Human Services and Transportation and
Intergovernmental Affairs that are attached to this report, your
Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 199,
and recommend that it be referred to the Committee on Ways and
Means.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committees on Health and Human
                                   Services and Transportation
                                   and Intergovernmental Affairs,



____________________________       ______________________________
CAL KAWAMOTO, Chair                SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair

 
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