STAND. COM. REP. NO.531-02

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: H.C.R. No. 29

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor and Public Employment, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 29 entitled:

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE CONVENING OF A TASK FORCE TO EXAMINE THE HAWAII PREPAID HEALTH CARE ACT, CHAPTER 393, HAWAII REVISED STATUTES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this concurrent resolution is to convene a task force to examine the effectiveness of the Hawaii Prepaid Healthcare Act (PHCA).

The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, Hawaii Business League, Hawaii Medical Association, and Healthcare Association of Hawaii testified in support of this measure. Kaiser Permanente and the Hawaii Uninsured Project supported the intent of the measure. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs commented on the measure.

PHCA is the cornerstone of health care access in Hawaii and was initially enacted in an attempt to provide a form of universal health care for all of Hawaii's citizens. After legal challenges over whether or not the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) superceded PHCA were upheld in federal court, Congress granted Hawaii a waiver to exempt PHCA from ERISA. In doing so, however, Congress stipulated that any changes to PHCA after September 2, 1974, were prohibited, unless the changes improved the effective administration of PHCA. Essentially, this froze PHCA in time, causing a burden to be placed on businesses in Hawaii as health care costs rose, thus increasing an employers' contribution to health care insurance. Moreover, prior legislative attempts to adjust PHCA to evolve with modern standards have met resistance due to the fear of losing ERISA exemption.

Your Committee understands the concerns regarding the complexity of PHCA and recognizes the number of stakeholders involved in attempting to resolve issues involving PHCA. Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Including a list of the seven principles followed by the PHCA;

(2) Noting that amending PHCA may actually expand medical coverage for Hawaii's residents;

(3) Recognizing that some members of the community have already begun extensive efforts to analyze health insurance issues in Hawaii;

(4) Increasing the PHCA Task Force membership to sixteen;

(5) Adding the requirement that both a representative of Hawaii's hospitals and a representative of the Hawaii Uninsured Project be included as members of the PHCA Task Force;

(6) Changing the date the PHCA Task Force is required to submit its report to the Legislature to November 30, 2002; and

(7) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity, conformity, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor and Public Employment that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 29, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, in the form attached hereto as H.C.R. No. 29, H.D. 1.

 

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor and Public Employment,

 

____________________________

SCOTT K. SAIKI, Chair