STAND. COM. REP. NO.  213

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   H.B. No. 1477

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 1477 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO RURAL PRIMARY HEALTH CARE TRAINING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to improve healthcare access for the people of Hawaii by establishing a statewide rural training model that produces a robust, well trained primary healthcare workforce and places family physicians in rural areas.

     Specifically this bill would establish a statewide rural training model that would place primary care physicians in medically underserved areas and create a support system around them, which in turn will help establish a primary healthcare workforce in medically underserved areas.  This will be accomplished by expanding the family medicine residency program sponsored by the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii and Wahiawa General Hospital.  The approach of training physicians in rural areas for the remaining two years of their program at rural training sites is predicated on the fact that physicians tend to remain and practice where they train.

     This bill also appropriates funds to cover the start-up costs of implementing this expanded physician training model.  Once established, the model will be funded through a combination of the Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, clinical revenue, and support from rural hospital and community health center partners.

     Your Committee finds that there exists a severe primary healthcare workforce shortage in many rural areas of Hawaii.  Measures must be taken to supply a primary healthcare workforce to provide proper healthcare, particularly in the rural areas of Hawaii, and to control future healthcare costs.

     The following submitted testimony in support of H.B. No. 1477:  the Department of Health, the State Health Planning and Development Agency, the John A. Burns School of Medicine University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, Hawaii Medical Service Association, the Hawai‘i Primary Care Association, the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, and the Hawaii Psychiatric Medical Association.

     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. 1477 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Higher Education.

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

____________________________

JOSHUA B. GREEN, M.D., Chair