STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 423-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: H.B. No. 2088

H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Human Services and Housing and Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 2088 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CRITICAL ACCESS HOSPITALS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to:

(1) Replace the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation with the Department of Human Services (DHS) as the source of the State's share of matching funds for critical access hospitals; and

(2) Make permanent the definition of "critical access hospital", payment methodology using Medicare reasonable cost principles, and exemption of critical access hospitals from Medicaid reimbursement equity.

The Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO, Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital, and Healthcare Association of Hawaii testified in support of this measure. DHS and the Department of Budget and Finance provided comments.

Your Committees have amended this measure by replacing DHS with the Department of Health as the source of the State's share of matching funds for critical access hospitals.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Housing and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2088, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2088, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Human Services and Housing and Health,

____________________________ DENNIS A. ARAKAKI, Chair		____________________________ MICHAEL PUAMAMO KAHIKINA, Chair