STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3221
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: S.C.R. No. 77
S.D. 1
Honorable Robert Bunda
President of the Senate
Twenty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2006
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 77 entitled:
"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU TO CONDUCT A STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF THE ADEQUACY OF PAYMENTS FOR HEALTH CARE FUNDED BY THE STATE AND THE ADEQUACY OF PAYMENTS FOR HEALTH CARE USING RATES ESTABLISHED BY THE STATE,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to request the Legislative Reference Bureau to conduct a study and analysis of the adequacy of payments for health care funded by the State and the adequacy of payments for health care using rates established by the State.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Kaiser Permanente, the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, and the Hawaii Long Term Care Association. The Legislative Reference Bureau submitted comments in response to this measure.
Your Committee finds that Hawaii's health care infrastructure is in critical financial condition and is experiencing a severe shortage of physicians. The Legislative Reference Bureau is a neutral agency that could appropriately conduct research into reimbursements and costs affecting health care providers.
Your Committee has adopted the recommendations of the Legislative Reference Bureau and has amended this measure by narrowing the scope of the study specifically to providers of Medicaid and QUEST recipients.
Your Committee further amended this measure by requesting that the study include:
(1) Processes implemented by other jurisdictions or as recommended by experts that try to ensure that state-funded health care payments to Medicaid providers adequately reimburse them for their actual costs;
(2) A comparison of rates for the ten most frequently used services in Medicaid and QUEST health care services, actual costs of those services, and the amount reimbursed to the provider; and
(3) A survey of nationwide benchmarks to determine how Hawaii compares to other jurisdictions regarding provider payments and reimbursements for at least the ten most frequently used Medicaid and QUEST health procedures.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 77, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Housing, in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 77, S.D. 1.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,
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____________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair |
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