STAND. COM. REP. NO.  787

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

RE:   H.B. No. 1284

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 1284 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to ensure that the most needy individuals have access to medical care by appropriating funds to increase the payment for physician services for Medicaid-eligible persons, including fee-for-service and QUEST-eligible individuals.

     The Department of Human Services opposed this bill.  The Occupational Therapy Association of Hawaii offered comments.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

     (1)  Deleting the appropriations to encourage further discussion;

     (2)  Deleting references to the percentage of the Medicare fee schedule that the increased payments are intended to cover;

     (3)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2020; and

     (4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1284, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1284, H.D. 1.

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

____________________________

MARCUS R. OSHIRO, Chair