Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 2098, H.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to provide for the release of the medical records of a deceased person, with certain limitations, to the next of kin.

Specifically, this measure would:

Testimony in support of this measure was received from Healthcare Association of Hawaii, Queen's Medical Center, and Kaiser Permanente.

Your Committee finds that a deceased person's medical records may be needed for life insurance or worker's compensation death benefits, as well as used as evidence in a lawsuit in a traffic accident. However, due to requirements of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a health care provider may only release the patient's medical records if that patient had a will. Absent a will, which many people do not have, the deceased's relatives will have to undergo legal proceedings that can be costly and time consuming.

Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive changes for clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2098, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2098, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.