HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	116
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO MAKE HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS IMMUNIZATION AVAILABLE TO INDIGENT PATIENTS AND THROUGH THE tEEN vax PROGRAM, AND URGING INSURERS TO OFFER HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS IMMUNIZATION TO FEMALE POLICYHOLDERS ELEVEN TO TWENTY-SIX YEARS OF AGE.

     WHEREAS, infection with sexually transmitted human papillomavirus is common in adult populations worldwide, and research suggests that up to seventy-five per cent of women will become infected with one or more of the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus types at some point during adulthood; and

     WHEREAS, although most genital human papillomavirus infections come and go without ever causing any symptoms, lingering infections with a small subset of high-risk human papillomavirus types can lead to the development of cervical cancer; and

     WHEREAS, the current generation of preventive human papillomavirus vaccines that are available target the two most common high-risk human papillomavirus types that cause about seventy per cent of all cervical cancer. These vaccines are designed to elicit virus-neutralizing antibody responses that prevent initial infection with the human papillomavirus types represented in the vaccine; and

     WHEREAS, vaccination has been shown to offer one hundred per cent protection against the development of cervical pre-cancers and genital warts caused by the human papillomavirus types in the vaccine, with few or no side effects, and the protective effects of these vaccines are expected to last a minimum of four and one-half years after the initial vaccination; and

     WHEREAS, the development of human papillomavirus vaccines offer a previously unavailable source of protection against one of the most common and deadly types of cancer; in essence, a human papillomavirus vaccine is a vaccine against cervical cancer; and

     WHEREAS, by making human papillomavirus vaccinations more widely available through public health programs and expanded insurance coverage, the overall health of Hawaii's population would be improved and the incidence of cervical cancer would be reduced; now, therefore,  

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, that the Department of Health is requested to include human papillomavirus immunization among the services available to indigents and others; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to include human papillomavirus immunization among the vaccinations available in its Teen VAX Program; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that insurers providing health coverage in the State are urged to offer coverage to female policyholders eleven through twenty-six years of age, not as an employer option or deductible, for immunization against human papillomavirus for the policyholder and individuals covered under the policy, contract, plan, or agreement; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health and to the Insurance Commissioner, who in turn is requested to distribute copies to the chief executive officer of each major insurer providing health coverage to policyholders or group members in this State.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Requesting the Department of Health to make human papillomavirus immunization available to indigent patients and through the Teen VAX Program, and urging insurers to offer human papillomavirus immunization to female policyholders eleven to twenty-six years of age.