Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1243, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to support nonprofit, community-based health care providers in caring for the uninsured.

Specifically, this bill appropriates funds to pay nonprofit community health centers for providing direct care, which includes primary medical, dental, and mental health care and for the purchase of prescription drugs. The Department of Health is the expending agency.

Hawaii's community health centers, due to their closeness to the community and open patient-acceptance policies, represent the best system of community-based primary care for uninsured people. However, financial support for these centers is inadequate to meet the increasing demands of serving the uninsured.

For the purpose of facilitating further discussion, your Committee has amended this bill to change the appropriated amounts to blank amounts.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1243, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1243, S.D. 2.