WHEREAS, the rising cost of rehabilitation services and other health care costs and concomitant increases in insurance premiums and workers compensation payments are well documented; and

WHEREAS, one component of the cost for such health care is the necessity of receiving short- or long-term physical therapy and rehabilitation services; and

WHEREAS, many insurance policies contain limitations on coverage provided for physical therapy and rehabilitation services, if coverage is provided at all; and

WHEREAS, it is well-settled that providing necessary physical therapy and rehabilitation services greatly increases the likelihood of an individual achieving maximum recovery and becoming a functioning, economically productive member of the community once again; and

WHEREAS, Congress has recently reduced the budget for Hill-Burton payments to providers of services for the poor and Medicaid-eligible individuals; and

WHEREAS, this has resulted in an increase in the number of low income, uninsured, and Medicaid-eligible individuals needing medical care, including rehabilitation services; and

WHEREAS, new and innovative approaches need to be developed to address the skyrocketing costs of medical care and the provision of specialized care to individuals with low incomes, who are uninsured or underinsured, or who are Medicaid-eligible; and

WHEREAS, without any direct federal or state government funding, a Hawaii organization, Hawaii Services for the Disabled, Inc., dba All-Star Sports & Therapy Center, has developed an innovative way to provide necessary health care and rehabilitation services to low income and uninsured individuals while maintaining the economic viability of the business, that may serve as a model for the delivery of specialized health care to this population without the increased expenditure of taxpayer dollars; and

WHEREAS, the State should study organizations that have successfully implemented innovative approaches to providing health care and services, at low or no cost, to low income, Medicaid-eligible, underinsured and uninsured individuals, and should also explore other alternatives that may be available to provide health care to this growing population while maximizing the use of scarce taxpayer dollars; and

WHEREAS, the State should explore the feasibility of entering into public-private partnerships as a means of lowering health care costs for specialized services, such as rehabilitation services, for low income, Medicaid-eligible, underinsured and uninsured individuals, and government employees; and

WHEREAS, all major stakeholders should be included in the discussion in order to develop a reasonable, rational approach to delivering specialized health care to low income and Medicaid-eligible individuals in Hawaii; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, that the Departments of Human Resources Development, Human Services, and Labor and Industrial Relations (collectively, Departments) are requested to collaboratively explore the feasibility of entering into public-private partnerships for the purposes of providing cost-effective health care services to low income and Medicaid-eligible individuals and government employees; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Departments are requested to collaborate with the following entities:

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Departments are requested to submit a summary of findings and recommendations as to the feasibility of creating public-private partnerships for the purposes of providing cost-effective health care services for low income, Medicaid-eligible individuals and government employees, and including proposed legislation, if any, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2004 Regular Session; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Directors of Human Services, Human Resources Development, and Labor and Industrial Relations; the Chief of the Workers Compensation Division of the Department of Human Resources Development; the Administrator of the Disability Compensation Division of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; the Administrator of the Vocational Rehabilitation and Services for the Blind Division of the Department of Human Services; the Hawaii Government Employees' Association; the United Public Workers; the Hawaii State Teachers' Association; the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly; Hawaii Services for the Disabled, Inc.; HMSA; Kaiser Permanente; Hawaii Pacific Health; AlohaCare; the Hawaii Uninsured Project; the Hawaii Insurers Council; and the Hawaii Medical Association.

Report Title:

Feasibility Study; Public-Private Partnership for Health Care Services