Report Title:
Appropriation; DOH
Description:
Appropriates funds to the DOH to provide cost-effective medical care for uninsured Hawaii residents.
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
115 |
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TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to health.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that some ten per cent of the population of the State of Hawaii has no public or private health insurance. The legislature further finds that, according to the Kaiser Commission on the Medicaid and the Uninsured:
(1) Four out of five uninsured people are in working families;
(2) Uninsured people are more likely than those with insurance to be hospitalized for conditions that could have been avoided;
(3) 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; and
(4) Nearly forty per cent of uninsured adults skipped a recommended medical test or treatment, and twenty per cent say they needed but did not get care for a serious problem in the past year.
The significant number of uninsured residents has a considerable economic impact on the State’s hospitals, community health centers, and other participants in the health care industry, threatening their ability to effectively serve the whole community.
It is in the best interests of the State to ensure access to primary and preventive health care for its residents. In addition to giving rise to a healthier population, providing access to care reduces state expenditures attributable to hospital and emergency room services for preventable injuries or illnesses.
The legislature further finds that the most effective means to encourage access to primary health care for residents without health insurance is through Hawaii’s system of federally qualified health centers, which:
(1) Are nonprofit, community-based organizations whose purpose and expertise lie in serving people who otherwise have limited access to care;
(2) Provide culturally and linguistically appropriate health care and a broad range of primary care and preventive services, and are located in areas where people have limited access to other health care providers because of geographic and socio-economic barriers;
(3) Contribute greatly to the economies and livability of the communities they serve; and
(4) Are cost-effective providers whose care results in healthier patients and decreased emergency, specialty, and in-patient services.
The legislature further finds that, while federally qualified health centers are the best system of community-based primary care for uninsured people, financial support for community health centers is inadequate to meet increasing demands.
The purpose of this Act is to provide cost-effective care for Hawaii residents who are uninsured while at the same time ensuring that the community health center system remains financially viable and stable in the face of a growing population of uninsured.
SECTION 2. The department of health shall provide resources to nonprofit, community-based health-care providers for direct medical care for the uninsured, including primary medical, dental, and behavioral health care. Distribution of funds may be on a "per visit" basis, taking into consideration need on all islands.
SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $3,350,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2005-2006, and the sum of $3,520,000, or so much thereof that may be necessary for fiscal year 2006-2007, for the purpose of providing direct medical care to the uninsured.
SECTION 4. The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of health for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2005.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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