HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	73
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

REQUESTING HAWAII'S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO RECOMMEND TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FUNDING REFORMS FOR HAWAII'S MEDICAID AND QUEST PROGRAMS.

     WHEREAS, it is necessary for both the state and federal governments to take responsibility for ensuring that citizens receive medical care from the most qualified doctors and have access to the latest medical technology; and

     WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii is one of the most expensive places to live as a result of extra but necessary charges to its residents, including those necessary to receive the best possible medical care; and

     WHEREAS, these charges include travel costs for patients and doctors, shipping fees, and ever-increasing costs for the latest medical technology and medicine; and

     WHEREAS, while the State already contributes a large amount of money to medical programs, funding levels remain sorely inadequate for covering all lower-income citizens and preventing hospitals from falling into debt; and

     WHEREAS, while the federal government is the only entity with a budget sufficient to alleviate Hawaii's unique health care costs, the federal government's contributions to the State and its health care plan have diminished over the years; and

     WHEREAS, several factors contribute to Hawaii's growing need for federal assistance, including the extremely high cost of cutting-edge medical technologies, the baby boom generation's demand for expensive, institutional long-term care, the extra expenses incurred by health care facilities due to potential terrorist threats, the frequently insufficient payments received by health care providers from government payors, private insurers, and patients who do not have insurance, and finally, the losses of more than $500,000,000 incurred by the State's hospitals since 2000 due to bad debt and charity care; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the Senate concurring, that Hawaii's Congressional Delegation is requested to work with the appropriate federal agencies to examine and reconsider how the federal government spends its health care dollars; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this examination strive for a more accurate assessment of each state's economic situation by examining each state's tax base, burden of rising medical and hospital expenses, cost of living, and most current personal income data; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the delegation is requested to work with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to consider increasing the current 0.5650 multiplier used to calculate the federal medical assistance percentage that is established in federal law, such that more aid to the State might be provided without the requirement of greater state contributions; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to Hawaii's Congressional Delegation, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the Governor, the state Director of Health, and the state Director of Human Services.

Report Title: 

Federal funding for Medicaid and QUEST