WHEREAS, in September 2004, the United States Census Bureau issued a report indicating that an estimated forty-five million, or 15.6 per cent, of Americans do not have health insurance coverage; and

WHEREAS, in Hawaii, approximately 113,000, or ten per cent, of Hawaii residents are uninsured; and

WHEREAS, according to the University of Hawaii Social Science Research Institute's analysis of data from the Current Population Survey conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics over a ten year average, an estimated 84,369 Hawaii residents between the ages of nineteen and sixty-four are uninsured; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's Prepaid Health Care Act of 1974 was designed to ensure that full-time employees working at least twenty hours a week for four consecutive weeks had access to health insurance through their employer; and

WHEREAS, certain groups of workers, including government employees, workers engaged in collective bargaining, sole proprietors, family businesses, and part-time workers, are exempt from the provisions of the Prepaid Health Care Act; and

WHEREAS, an estimated 31,376 full-time employees in Hawaii, working more than twenty hours per week at their main job, should receive health coverage through their employer, but these employees are not insured; and

WHEREAS, an additional estimated 11,571 working adults are self-employed and 4,302 are part-time employees and thus are exempt from Hawaii's Prepaid Health Care Act; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Uninsured Project recently issued a policy brief outlining several coverage options derived from a health policy forum in October 2003, as well as options from national experts working with the project to help address Hawaii's uninsured population; and

WHEREAS, one of the proposals presented at the health policy forum involved individual responsibility for health insurance as a viable option for the gap groups not covered under the Prepaid Health Care Act; and

WHEREAS, this proposal states that all Hawaii residents should be required to purchase their own health insurance from among competing private providers, with the government providing subsidies to individuals who need financial assistance; and

WHEREAS, this policy option could offer residents more health care choices and allow them to take their health plan and doctors with them from job to job; and

WHEREAS, health savings accounts, another option created as part of the Medicare drug legislation, allows individuals who enroll in high-deductible health insurance plans, whether through their employers or on their own, to establish tax-favored savings accounts; and

WHEREAS, deposits into health savings accounts are one hundred per cent tax-deductible for the self-employed and can be easily withdrawn by check or debit card to pay routine medical bills with tax-free dollars, and larger medical expenses are covered by a low-cost, high deductible health insurance policy; and

WHEREAS, public-private options for covering the uninsured include allowing individuals to buy-in into the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund, which has lower negotiated premium rates than an individual or small business would be able to obtain in the current market; and

WHEREAS, this variety of options should be further explored to determine how to best address the gap groups not covered by the Prepaid Health Care Act; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to conduct a survey of private-sector employers to obtain an estimate of the number of employees who do not have health insurance coverage through their employer or through any other source; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to distinguish in its survey between employees who have health insurance but who are not covered through their employer (e.g., because they are covered through a spouse), and employees who are not covered by health insurance from any source; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to obtain and provide information regarding any health insurance coverage presently being offered by employers to employees who are employed less than twenty hours weekly, as well as the number of employees who utilize that coverage; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, Small Business Hawaii, and the Hawaii Federation of Independent Businesses are requested to assist the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations in its efforts to obtain this information; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to submit any findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2006; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations who, in turn, is requested to transmit copies to the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, Small Business Hawaii, and the Hawaii Federation of Independent Businesses.

Report Title:

Health Insurance; Coverage; DLIR Study