STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1267-08

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2008

RE:   S.B. No. 3015

      S.D. 2

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 3015, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE PATIENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES ACT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to help protect consumers of health insurance by prohibiting certain practices by managed care plans, including:

     (1)  Disenrollment from a health plan because of a medical condition;

     (2)  Withdrawal of authorization by the health plan for a procedure after the provider has provided or begins to provide health care services;

     (3)  Health insurance contract modifications during the term of the contract, unless the modifications are agreed upon;

     (4)  Post claims underwriting, such as terminating an individual's health plan coverage because the insurer discovers a medical condition that the individual did not know about at the time of underwriting; and

     (5)  Establishing an eligible charge for a nonparticipating provider service that is different from the eligible charge paid for the same service rendered by a participating provider.

     The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs supported this bill.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by changing the effective date to January 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion.

     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. 3015, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3015, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committees on Consumer Protection & Commerce and Judiciary.

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

____________________________

JOSHUA B. GREEN, M.D., Chair