Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 2290 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to expand the types of credentials that may be substituted for domiciliary, experiential, educational, and examination requirements by an applicant for independent bill reviewer licensing.

Your Committee received testimony in favor of this measure from the Hawaii Health Information Corporation, Straub Clinic & Hospital, and Health Information Management Association of Hawaii (47 signed form letters). Your Committee received testimony opposing the measure from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

Your Committee finds that under section 431:9-243, Hawaii Revised Statutes, only individuals holding the certified professional coder credential offered by the American Academy of Professional Coders are allowed to substitute their credentials for domiciliary, experiential, and examination requirements. The failure to recognize the existence of other qualified coding and health information management professionals gives an unfair advantage to one group of credentialed coders and unnecessarily denies those performing healthcare audits and reviews the freedom to choose. This measure addresses these inequities by according the same substitution option to certified professional coders credentialed by the American Health Information Management Association who seek a bill reviewer's license.

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. 2290 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing.