STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1592
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2005
RE: S.B. No. 1420
S.D. 2
H.D. 3
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2005
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred S.B. No. 1420, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PSYCHOTROPIC MEDICATION,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to ensure that mental health patients receive appropriate medication by:
(1) Prohibiting the Department of Human Services (DHS) from restricting payments for access to psychotropic medication prescribed to the recipient by a licensed medical care provider;
(2) Providing that an individual determined by a licensed medical care provider to be in need of emergency psychiatric or psychological service is presumed eligible for psychotropic medication prescribed by a licensed medical care provider until an eligibility decision is made by DHS, and that DHS must reimburse any costs for the medication and related physician services incurred during the presumptive eligibility period;
(3) Removing the preauthorization restrictions for licensed medical care providers prescribing psychotropic medication to certain individuals in need of emergency psychiatric or psychological service;
(4) Establishing a task force to examine issues relating to psychotropic medication restrictions, and appropriating an unspecified sum for the task force's expenses; and
(5) Appropriating unspecified sums for fiscal years 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 for DHS to provide unrestricted payment for and access to psychotropic medication.
The Hawaii Disability Rights Center, Mental Health Legislative Coalition, and numerous individuals testified in support of this bill. The Department of the Attorney General (AG), Department of Health, and a concerned individual opposed this measure. DHS offered comments.
Your Committee notes that the AG expressed concerns that the provision establishing presumptive eligibility for psychotropic medication for patients in need of emergency psychiatric or psychological service may expose the State to liability to other disabled populations for disparate treatment of their medical conditions. Furthermore, the AG notes that payment for emergency psychiatric or psychological services should be made from state funds only, as the use of federal funds for services provided to patients later found ineligible for Medicaid may negatively impact the State's share of future Medicaid reimbursements.
Your Committee has amended this bill by:
(1) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2010, to encourage further discussion; and
(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity and style.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1420, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1420, S.D. 2, H.D. 3.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,
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____________________________ DWIGHT TAKAMINE, Chair |
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