STAND. COM. REP. NO.1188
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2001
RE: H.B. No. 202
H.D. 1
S.D. 1
Honorable Robert Bunda
President of the Senate
Twenty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2001
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred H.B. No. 202, H.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH INSURANCE,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure, as received, is to:
(1) Define "clean claims";
(2) Remove the notice requirement for contested or denied claims; and
(3) Require entities to make an electronic verification system available for eligibility purposes.
Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Insurance Division, Kaiser Permanente, Massage Therapist Association, Hawaii Chapter American Physical Therapy Association, Hawaii Medical Service Association, and Hawaii Medical Association.
Your Committee is aware of the complaints received by the Insurance Division that health insurers have been issuing notices to health care providers stating that additional time or information is necessary and failing to specify the information that is required to process the claim. Your Committee does not believe that the intent of this law was to allow further delay of payment, thus your Committee agrees that amendments to this law are needed to assure that health insurers comply with the true sprit of the law, to pay health and dental insurance claims in a timely fashion.
Your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Amending the requirement of notice for contested or denied claims by allowing an entity's reimbursement report to be an substitution;
(2) Clarify that the verification system does not have to produce immediate verification;
(3) Removing the July 1, 2002, sunset provision in Act 99, Session Laws of Hawaii 1999, relating to health insurance reimbursement;
(4) Inserting a new part, which mandates insurance benefits for full mental health and substance abuse parity for minor's under the age of eighteen; and
(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health and Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 202, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 202, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing and Judiciary.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health and Human Services,
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____________________________ DAVID MATSUURA, Chair |