RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that some 10 percent of the population of the State of Hawaii has no public or private health insurance; and

WHEREAS, the lack of adequate health care in our rural areas of Hawaii is exemplified by the shortage of primary care physicians especially in Oahu's neighbor islands; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that it is the right of every resident of Hawaii to have access to healthcare wherever their home in these islands may be; and

WHEREAS, uninsured people are more likely than those with insurance to be hospitalized for conditions that could have been avoided had appropriate healthcare been available; and

WHEREAS, many uninsured people with various forms of cancer are more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage cancer resulting in higher rates of death and disability because healthcare services were not easily accessible; and

WHEREAS, nearly 40 percent of uninsured adults skipped a recommended medical test or treatment, and 20 percent say they needed but did not get care for a serious problem in the past year; and

WHEREAS, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) are a vital tool in keeping medically underserved communities and uninsured people healthy and disease-free; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature urges the State to support existing FQHCs and to identify statewide sites that would benefit from the development of more FQHCs; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Health Resources and Services Administration are requested to support the efforts of the State; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to Hawaii's Congressional delegation, the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration.

Report Title:

Federally Qualified Health Centers; Support and Development