STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2193

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 2484
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Judiciary and Health and Human Services,
to which was referred S.B. No. 2484 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MEDICAID RECOVERY,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to clarify the functions of the
Medicaid Fraud Unit of the Attorney General, to allow the unit to
conduct an elder abuse neglect and prevention program, and to
allow the Medicaid Investigations Recovery Fund to provide funds
for an elder abuse neglect and prevention program.

     Your Committees find that elder abuse is a painful problem
of shockingly wide proportions; indeed, it is a figurative
decubitus on the body of Hawaii's populace.  Your Committees
further find that the federal government is presently encouraging
state agencies working on medicaid fraud prevention to also
address elder abuse and its prevention.  It is your Committees'
intent to give the Medicaid Fraud Unit the authorization and
funding needed to fight elder abuse, without jeopardizing the
Unit's ability to continue to seek federal funds.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Executive Office on Aging, the Policy Advisory Board for Elder
Affairs, and one individual.  Testimony in support of this
measure, with an amendment, was submitted by the Attorney
General.


 
a                                                     
 
                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2193
                                   Page 2


     Upon further consideration, your Committees have amended
this measure by:

     (1)  Correcting a reference to federal law;

     (2)  Providing that if use of the special fund for elder
          abuse programs would jeopardize federal funding, such
          use is not permitted; and

     (3)  Making technical, non-substantive changes for the
          purposes of clarity and style.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your
Committees on Judiciary and Health and Human Services that are
attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the
intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2484, as amended herein, and
recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto
as S.B. No. 2484, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on
Ways and Means.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committees on Judiciary and
                                   Health and Human Services,



____________________________       ______________________________
SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair        AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
a