STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1695

                                   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 Committee on Ways and Means, 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),"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this Concurrent Resolution 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 effort to amend the Social Security
Act to increase Hawaii's federal medical assistance percentage.

     Your Committee finds that Hawaii needs to assert itself when
federal dollars are made available for programs such as Medicaid.
Hawaii's Medicaid beneficiaries should continue to receive
necessary medical care, and Hawaii's share of the costs of
providing Medicaid services should not be diminished because of
its high cost of living.

     Your Committee further finds that the federal government's
payment to the State for Medicaid is based on a formula which

 
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fails to take into account Hawaii's high cost of living.  If the
federal medical assistance percentage is changed, Hawaii could
recover about $7,000,000 for each percentage point increase in
the federal medical assistance percentage rate.  This would help
Hawaii when its economy is particularly weak and its government
is less able to provide general funds to maintain adequate levels
of services for the Medicaid community.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your
Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 199,
and recommends its adoption.

                                 Respectfully submitted on behalf
                                 of the members of the Committee
                                 on Ways and Means,



                                 ________________________________
                                 CAROL FUKUNAGA, Co-Chair



                                 ________________________________
                                 ANDREW LEVIN, Co-Chair

 
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