WHEREAS, Hawaii's Prepaid Health Care law has propelled the State to the forefront of the nation by providing near universal health coverage for its residents by providing employer-paid health coverage for workers; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Human Services' QUEST program has sought to extend health coverage to more residents who are not covered by the Prepaid Health Care law; and

WHEREAS, hospitals in the State have always provided, and continue to provide, health care for the uninsured and have attempted to shift the cost of providing this care to consumers who are able to pay; and

WHEREAS, cost-shifting has been stretched to its limits and can no longer be depended upon to provide compensation for the provision of unreimbursed health care for the uninsured; and

WHEREAS, when the State obtained its QUEST waiver from the federal government, the Department of Human Services' Disproportionate Share of Hospital Payments, which were federal dollars provided to the Department for lump sum distribution to hospitals for compensation for care provided to the uninsured, was eliminated; and

WHEREAS, there is a great need to marshal resources to help compensate Hawaii's hospitals for their provision of health care for the uninsured; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, that the Department of Human Services, with the assistance of Hawaii's congressional delegation, is requested to restore the Disproportionate Share of Hospital Payments for compensation for care provided to the uninsured; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Human Services and to the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

Report Title:

DHS; Restore Disproportionate Share of Hospital Payments