STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1810

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.C.R. No. 209

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 209 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO STUDY THE SOCIAL AND FINANCIAL IMPACT OF MANDATORY HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR USE OF THE LG1 INTELLIGENT MEDICAL VIGILANCE SYSTEM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to request the Auditor to study the social and financial impact of mandatory health insurance coverage for use of the LG1 Intelligent Medical Vigilance System. 

The measure further requests the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation to conduct a pilot study to determine the social and financial impact to the system and along with the Auditor, report its findings to the Legislature prior to the 2008 Regular Session.

     No comments were received by your Committee on this measure.

Your Committee finds that the LG1 Intelligent Medical Vigilance System provides for continuous non-contact monitoring of a patient's heart and respiratory rate and automatically notifies hospital staff in the event of a life-threatening change.  Your Committee further finds that this innovative device has the potential to help alleviate the effects of the current shortage of hospital nurses by ensuring that patients are constantly monitored while hospital staff are free to perform other duties.  This will facilitate more efficient use of hospital resources by enabling the nursing staff to be aware of, and respond to, any sudden patient deterioration.  As a result, health care costs will be lowered without compromising quality health care and without increasing the workload of overburdened hospital staff.

     Your Committee further finds that when mandating health insurance coverage for specific health services, specific diseases, or certain providers of health care services as part of an individual or group health insurance policy, section 23-51, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires a concurrent resolution to be adopted requesting an Auditor's impact assessment report.  Accordingly, your Committee finds that this measure requesting the Auditor to conduct an impact assessment report on the mandatory health insurance coverage of the LG1 Intelligent Medical Vigilance System is appropriate.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 209 and recommends its adoption.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair