STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3105

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 2727

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 2727, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH INSURANCE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to ensure that children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders have access to quality health care services and treatment.

     Specifically, this measure:

     (1)  Requires health insurers to provide coverage for autism spectrum disorders; and

     (2)  Establishes the temporary autism disorders spectrum benefits and coverage task force to discuss and seek input on the problems faced by parents of children with autism and what can be done to ensure that proper benefits and services are provided through public and private resources to address the special needs of children with autism, including providing services involving applied behavioral analyses techniques.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Disability Rights Center, Autism Speaks, and seventeen individuals.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Health and Hawaii Medical Service Association.  The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Kaiser Permanente, and Hawaii Association of Health Plans submitted comments on this measure.

     Your Committee finds that section 23-51, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), requires that "[b]efore any legislative measure that mandates health insurance coverage for specific health services, specific diseases, or certain providers of health care services as part of individual or group health insurance policies, can be considered, there shall be concurrent resolutions passed requesting the auditor to prepare and submit to the legislature a report that assesses both the social and financial effects of the proposed mandated coverage."

     Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting language that mandates health care coverage for autism spectrum disorders; and

     (2)  Clarifying that the task force is to research health insurance coverage plans that cover autism spectrum disorders in other states and develop a plan of services that health insurers should be mandated to cover.

     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. 2727, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2727, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Affordable Housing.

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

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair