STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1166

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 1377

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 1377 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION TO THE HAWAII HEALTH SYSTEMS CORPORATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to enable the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation to provide quality health care and pay for operational costs that will exceed the current expenditure ceiling.

     Specifically, this measure increases the expenditure ceiling on the Health Systems Special Fund and makes an emergency appropriation out of the special fund to the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation to pay for increased operational costs.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation.

     Your Committee finds that health care costs have substantially increased beyond amounts anticipated in the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation's 2006-2007 budget.  Your Committee further finds that this measure is not a request for an appropriation from the general fund.  It raises the expenditure ceiling of the existing Health Systems Special Fund by $41,000,000.

     An expenditure ceiling increase of $41,000,000 for the Health Systems Special Fund is required to pay for additional staff hired for the conversion of Kula, Hale Ho‘ola Hamakua, and Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospitals to critical access hospital status; for hospitalist programs at Hilo Medical Center, Maui Memorial Medical Center, and Kona Community Hospital; to operate the medical/surgical wing of Maui Memorial Medical Center; to staff imaging departments; to provide physicians for specialty coverage; and to help cover the increasing costs of providing quality healthcare.

     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 H.B. No. 1377, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair