Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2006

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 2729 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to ensure underserved communities receive dental services by establishing a student loan repayment program as an incentive for dentists who serve these communities.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, Hawaii Dental Association, Hawaii Primary Care Association, Kokua Council, Kokua Kalihi Valley, and one individual.

Your Committees find that a severe shortage of dental services exists in the rural and underserved communities of Hawaii. Dental health is essential to an individual's overall health and well-being. Your Committees further find that an incentive is needed to encourage more dentists to provide services to the underserved communities and that a student loan repayment program will maximize the availability of quality dental care.

Your Committees amended this measure by adopting the Department of Human Services' recommendation to address the fact that dental services for all Medicaid recipients, not just Med-QUEST recipients, are paid for on a fee-for-service basis.

Additionally, your Committees want to ensure that dentists who receive the loan repayment benefit serve low income or uninsured clients, and have amended the bill to strengthen those provisions.

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 S.B. No. 2729, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2729, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.