Makes an appropriation to provide preventive dental services for adults residing in any county with a population of under 300,000 who are covered by Med-QUEST, department of health, and community health centers.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that as of February 1, 1996, preventive dentistry services for adults covered by the Medicaid and Med-QUEST programs were discontinued because of cutbacks in the state budget. At the present time, these clients can only receive emergency dental services. Medicaid, a federally funded program, will provide fifty per cent of funds necessary to provide preventive dentistry services to adult clients of the Medicaid and Med-QUEST programs. The State must provide the remaining fifty per cent for those who are qualified.

The legislature further finds that the department of health and community health centers have also provided dentistry services for adults, but due to budget cutbacks, services have been discontinued or scaled down.

The legislature further finds that, outside of Oahu, in many cases, rural neighbor islands' dental care services suffer from a lack of locally available dental care providers. The lack of locally available dental care services results in costly state-incurred travel expenses to travel to locations not readily available to persons of limited financial resources.

The purpose of this Act is to appropriate funds to Medicaid and Med-QUEST on a fee-for-service basis, the department of health, and community health centers to provide preventive dental services for covered adults in any county with a population under 300,000.

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $1,000,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2001-2002 to provide preventive dental services for adults residing in any county with a population under 300,000 who are covered by:

provided that no other dental specialties or services other than preventive dentistry shall be covered.

The department of human services shall consult with the department of health as to which dental services constitute preventive dentistry.

SECTION 3. The sum appropriated shall be expended by the departments of human services and health for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2001.