STAND. COM. REP. 1414

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 614

S.D. 1

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 614, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH INSURANCE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of the bill is to:

(1) Establish a health insurance fraud investigation unit within the Insurance Division of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to investigate fraud relating to accident, health or sickness insurance, mutual benefit societies, and health maintenance organizations; and

(2) Grant limited civil immunity to persons providing information, evidence, or testimony concerning health insurance fraud to the Insurance Commissioner or other specified entities.

The Hawaii Medical Service Association testified in support of the bill. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs supports the measure in part and opposes it in part while providing suggested amendments. The Hawaii Medical Association supports the measure with suggested amendments. Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii does not oppose the purpose of the measure and submitted comments. A concerned individual provided amendments.

Your Committee finds that this measure follows on the heels of the fraud provisions and fraud investigation unit provisions under the insurance code relating to motor vehicle insurance.

Your Committee amended the bill by deleting the contents and inserting, with some amendments, the contents of H.B. No. 43,

H.D. 2. The amendments to the bill as received by your Committee are:

(1) Adding the substance of the insurance fraud penalties section from the motor vehicle article of the Insurance Code to the health insurance articles, which includes immunity from civil liability for person who report insurance fraud;

(2) Amending §431:10C-307.7(a)(1), Hawaii Revised Statutes, which defines insurance fraud under the motor vehicle insurance articles, to require that for providing false information on a claim to be considered insurance fraud, the false information must be provided with the intent to defraud;

(3) Deleting the extraneous definition for "insurance fraud";

(4) Deleting the extraneous provisions of "Limitation of Liability", but retaining the provisions that:

(a) Clarify that the insurance commissioner has no duty to investigate or prosecute fraud; and

(b) Define the term "malice";

(5) Deleting references to appropriations; and

(6) Making technical and nonsubstantive changes for the purpose of style and clarity.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 614, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 614, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

 

____________________________

ERIC G. HAMAKAWA, Chair