RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer, other than skin cancer, among men in the United States, and it is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer-related death among men; and

WHEREAS, the American Cancer Society estimates that, in 2003, about 220,900 new cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed and about 28,900 men died of the disease; and

WHEREAS, about seventy per cent of all diagnosed prostate cancers are found in men aged sixty-five years or older and over the past twenty years, the survival rate for prostate cancer has increased from sixty-seven per cent to ninety-seven per cent; and

WHEREAS, in Hawaii, approximately seven hundred cases of invasive prostate cancer are diagnosed each year and another one hundred men die from the disease annually; and

WHEREAS, among males in all ethnic groups except Hawaiian, prostate cancer is the leading type of cancer diagnosed, and it is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among Caucasians, Chinese, and Filipino men in Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, prostate cancer accounts for about twenty-seven per cent of the cancer incidence and ten per cent of the cancer deaths among males in Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, certain guidelines recommend that physicians start risk and benefit discussions and offer a baseline prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test for patients beginning at age forty; and

WHEREAS, the PSA test is a blood test that measures the prostate-specific antigen enzyme, however, the digital rectal examination is another screening method; and

WHEREAS, section 23-51, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires that "[b]efore any legislative measure that mandates health insurance coverage for specific health services, specific diseases, or certain providers of health care services as part of individual or group health insurance policies, can be considered, there shall be concurrent resolutions passed requesting the auditor to prepare and submit to the legislature a report that assesses both the social and financial effects of the proposed mandated coverage"; and

WHEREAS, section 23-51 further provides that "[t]he concurrent resolutions shall designate a specific legislative bill that:

For purposes of this part, mandated health insurance coverage shall not include mandated optionals"; and

WHEREAS, section 23-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, further specifies the minimum information required for assessing the social and financial impact of the proposed health coverage mandate in the Auditor's report; and

WHEREAS, S.B. No. 1467 S.D. 1 (2005) mandates coverage for annual screening for men for the early detection of prostate cancer for all policies and contracts, hospital and medical service plan contracts, medical service corporation contracts, and health maintenance organization plans and contracts issued after December 31, 2006; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature believes that mandatory health insurance coverage for the early detection of prostate cancer as provided in S.B. No. 1467 S.D. 1 (2005), will substantially reduce illness and assist in the maintenance of good health for the people of this State; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Auditor is requested to conduct an impact assessment report, pursuant to sections 23-51 and 23-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, of the social and financial impacts of mandating coverage for annual screening for men for the early detection of prostate cancer in accordance with the prostate cancer early detection guidelines of other health care organizations including, but not limited to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, the American Cancer Society, the Centers for Disease Control, and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force for all policies and contracts, hospital and medical service plan contracts, medical service corporation contracts, and health maintenance organization plans and contracts issued after December 31, 2006, as provided in S.B. No. 1467 S.D. 1 (2005); and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to submit findings and recommendations to the Legislature, including any necessary implementing legislation, twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2006; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor and to the Insurance Commissioner, who in turn is requested to transmit copies to each insurer in the State that issues health insurance policies.

Report Title:

Mandatory Prostate Cancer Screening Coverage; Audit