STAND. COM. REP. NO. 616
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2005
RE: H.B. No. 695
H.D. 2
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2005
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committees on Health and Human Services, to which was referred H.B. No. 695, H.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FEDERAL REVENUE MAXIMIZATION,"
beg leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to require the Department of Education (DOE) to establish and implement a federal revenue maximization program for all Medicaid-eligible claims for school health services.
The Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Human Services (DHS) supported this bill.
DHS reported that Medicaid-eligible health services are currently provided to school-aged children through DOE, and have increased over time as a result of the Felix v. Cayetano consent decree. However, DOE has not sought reimbursement for these services from the federal government, and is, instead, using state dollars meant for education. This practice has decreased the availability of educational resources for our schools and placed an unnecessary and avoidable financial burden on the people of Hawaii.
Your Committee have amended this bill by:
(1) Requiring DOE, DOH, and DHS collaborate to identify sources of funding, including Medicaid-eligible health services and reimbursable health services, for the purposes of establishing school-based or school-linked health services at schools in federally designated underserved areas; and
(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, an style.
As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Human Services that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 695, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it be referred to the Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 695, H.D. 2.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Human Services,
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____________________________ ALEX M. SONSON, Chair |
____________________________ DENNIS A. ARAKAKI, Chair |
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