STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2711

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2882

       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 S.B. No. 2882 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to continue the provision of mail-order prescriptions for controlled substances by clarifying that an individual may be identified by a unique patient identifier assigned to the individual by the payor or pharmacy benefit manager.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Medco and Express Scripts.  Hawaii Medical Service Association submitted comments on this measure.

     Your Committee finds that current law in Hawaii requires a patient using a mail service pharmacy for discounted medications to provide that pharmacy with a copy of a government issued identification or social security number.  This is problematic because pharmacies and health plans are not allowed to use social security numbers for patient identification.

     Your Committee further finds that forty-nine states already have provisions in place that enable mail-order prescriptions for controlled substances by individuals with a unique patient identifier.  Since 1999, companies such as Medco, have been providing mail-order prescription service to residents of Hawaii.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Including insurers as those able to assign unique patient identifiers;

     (2)  Defining "mail order pharmacy";

     (3)  Clarifying that a patient properly enrolled in a mail order prescription drug plan is "known to" the mail order pharmacist; and

     (4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     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 S.B. No. 2882, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2882, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair