Report Title:
HCR RMT 1
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.C.R. NO. |
129 |
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TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001 |
H.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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RESOLUTION
Requesting the legislative reference bureau to conduct a study on the feasibility of a state pharmaceutical assistance program.
WHEREAS, prescription drugs are an increasingly significant component in modern health care as new medications improve health outcomes and quality of life, replace surgery and other invasive treatments, quicken recovery for patients who receive these treatments, and prevent serious and costly hospitalization; and
WHEREAS, prescription drug prices are rising twice as fast as inflation, with annual per cent increases in prescription expenditures surpassing most other aspects of personal health care expenditures in the past decade; and
WHEREAS, individuals without drug coverage pay a higher price at the retail pharmacy than the total price paid on behalf of those with drug coverage, thereby forcing those most in need to face the highest prices; and
WHEREAS, one in four Americans (70 million citizens) do not have drug coverage; and
WHEREAS, the percentage of Hawai‘i residents lacking even the most basic health insurance has been steadily growing in recent years, from 7.0 per cent in 1996 to 11 per cent in 1999; and
WHEREAS, a study by Boston University School of Public Health researchers estimate that 19 per cent of Hawai‘i’s population (228,000 residents) do not have drug coverage, and given that employers are required to provide health insurance but not drug coverage, the percentage of residents without drug coverage may be even higher; and
WHEREAS, one in three Medicare recipients do not have drug coverage; and
WHEREAS, Hawai‘i’s elderly population has been growing (13.2 per cent of total population in 1997) and is expected to increase dramatically in the near future with the first baby boomers turning 65 years old in 2011; and
WHEREAS, seniors consume one-third of all prescription drugs, averaging ten prescriptions prescribed per year versus three per year for those under sixty-five, and often live on fixed incomes, yet have minimal drug coverage; and
WHEREAS, an April 2000 study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that fewer employers offer health benefits to future retirees, making declines in drug coverage more likely; and
WHEREAS, rebates are such common practice that most, if not all, third-party insurers secure rebates from pharmaceutical manufacturers to bring discounted prices to their members; and
WHEREAS, twenty-six states have enacted varying forms of state pharmaceutical assistance programs for uninsured residents; and
WHEREAS, four states have established programs to pool together the uninsured and negotiate discounted prices through manufacturer rebates on their behalf; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to:
(1) Compile data on the status of prescription drugs in Hawai‘i--the number and percentage of uninsured residents, and the scope of available programs and access to prescription drugs;
(2) Contact other states that have enacted state pharmaceutical assistance programs, or organizations familiar with such, and request of them any and all pertinent information relating to their experience with the development and implementation of the programs;
(3) Contact relevant parties in Hawai‘i and request of them any and all pertinent information relating to their experience with pharmaceuticals and health care;
(4) Submit proposed legislation for a state pharmaceutical assistance program for uninsured residents of Hawai‘i;
and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to submit its findings to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2002; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau.