Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 952 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds for a full-time dentist for the mobile care vans of the Office of Social Ministry's Mobile Care Health Project.

The East and West Hawaii Developmental Disabilities Committees of the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, the Office for Social Ministry, and two individuals submitted testimony in support of this measure. The Department of Health submitted testimony in opposition.

Your Committee finds that the mobile care dental clinics are a vital component in serving the dental needs of people in Hawaii County. There are no state dental clinics located in that county, and fifty-five percent of the people in the county are underinsured. Moreover, there are very few dentists willing to accept Medicaid patients and those that do change monthly. According to the 2004 Hawaii Oral Health Profile, four hundred and twenty-eight children had to travel inter-island to receive necessary dental services. The mobility of Mobile Care's dental clinic provides people who are otherwise unable to travel with access to dental services and brings needed dental services to communities that have minimal or no dental care services available.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 952 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.