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 S.B. No. 29 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require that substance abuse treatment be provided by qualified providers rather than certified substance abuse staff and to define a qualified provider for the purposes of this treatment.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the department of health, Hawaii Government Employees Association, Hawaii Nurses' Association, Hawaii Psychological Association, Hawaii Medical Association, Hawaii Psychiatric Medical Association and Kaiser Permanente.

Your Committee finds that the current statute that requires professional substance abuse services to be only performed by professionals certified by the State's alcohol and drug abuse division in order to obtain reimbursement under 431M-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is limiting qualified services that might be provided by other qualified but not certified professionals such as psychologists, psychiatrists, clinical social workers, and advanced practice nurses. Your Committee agrees that those constraints should be lifted to allow all "qualified providers" to be reimbursed for providing substance abuse treatment.

Technical, nonsubstantive amendments were made to this measure.

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 S.B. No. 29, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 29, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing.