Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Human Services and Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 2608 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to delete the sunset clause of the Critical Access Hospital Program and substitute the Department of Human Services for the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation to provide matching funds for rural hospitals.

Testimony in favor of this measure was submitted by the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, Hawaii Government Employees Association, Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, and Hawaii Rural Health Association. The Department of Budget and Finance and the Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital submitted comments.

Your Committees find that the sunset of the Critical Access Hospital Program may result in reduction in critical services. The four Critical Access Hospitals under the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation have achieved significant beneficial results. The communities served by these facilities are now able to access emergency services at any time. If the sunset date is not repealed, the facilities will no longer be able to receive the additional federal funding for these emergency services.

The Department of Human Services has been coordinating with the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation regarding matching funds and will continue to discuss this issue. Consequently, your Committees have amended this bill by deleting item 1 of section 1, allowing the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation to continue to provide matching funds for the Critical Access Hospitals.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2608, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2608, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.