Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2654, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate additional funds to provide primary and preventive health care services to low-income, uninsured immigrants.

Your Committee finds that many immigrants in Hawaii have low incomes and meet medicaid eligibility criteria, but are ineligible for medicaid coverage due to the 1996 Welfare Reform Act. On the one hand, these immigrants come seeking better living conditions and opportunities to work. On the other hand, many of Hawaii's businesses rely on immigrants who frequently fill low-paying, unskilled, and part-time jobs. Immigrant workers, therefore, contribute to society but are vulnerable since they lack health insurance. Your Committee notes that state funds have been appropriated to the Hawaii immigrant health initiative, a program implemented by the Department of Human Services, to provide preventive and primary health care to immigrants and delivered by community health centers. However, the current funding is inadequate.

Your Committee further finds that if the basic health care needs of low-income immigrants are not addressed, costs for their uncompensated care delivered at hospital emergency rooms and for avoidable hospitalizations will be far greater and will negatively affect public and private insurance rates for all Hawaii residents.

Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this measure by changing the appropriated amount of $140,000 to an unspecified amount to facilitate further discussion. Your Committee has also made several technical nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2654, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2654, S.D. 2.