Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 1323 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to provide the Insurance Commissioner with discretionary authority to waive filing requirements for health maintenance organizations (HMOs) from other states seeking to obtain certification to conduct business in Hawaii.

The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Hawaii Medical Association, and Retail Merchants of Hawaii supported this measure. The Hawaii Medical Service Association submitted comments.

Your Committee finds that HMOs from other states, referred to as foreign HMOs, might be enticed to enter the Hawaii insurance market if a "fast-track" certification process were in place. A fast-track certification process would allow the Insurance Commissioner to waive filing requirements for foreign HMOs to conduct business in Hawaii. Your Committee notes that there are various criteria that must be met to become certified, and this measure may be broadly construed to allow the Insurance Commissioner to waive the filing requirements even though all the criteria may not have been met in the foreign HMO's home state.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this bill by:

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 S.B. No. 1323, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1323, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.