STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1456

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   S.B. No. 1672

      S.D. 2

      H.D. 2

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 1672, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to meet rising health care costs and ensure that Hawaii's residents have continued access to quality health care by:

     (1)  Establishing a process by which Medicaid fee-for-service individual provider reimbursement rates are increased annually for inflation;

     (2)  Retroactively adjusting for inflation, payments made to providers of hospital outpatient services and other individual providers; and

     (3)  Appropriating funds for the payments.

     The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, Hawaii Chapter – American Physical Therapy Association, Hawaii Primary Care Association, Healthcare Association of Hawaii, Hawaii Medical Service Association, and Hawaii Pacific Health testified in support of this bill.  The Department of Human Services provided comments.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

     (1)  Changing the effective date to January 1, 2112, to promote further discussion; and

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1672, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1672, S.D. 2, H.D. 2.

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

____________________________

TOMMY WATERS, Chair