STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1167

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

RE:   S.B. No. 417

      S.D. 1

      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 Committees on Human Services and Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 417, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill to help provide fair compensation to acute care hospitals and long-term care facilities by:

     (1)  Requiring medicaid reimbursements to hospitals for long-term care patients occupying acute-licensed beds due to waitlisting to be equal to the acute medical services payment rate; and

     (2)  Requiring medicaid reimbursements to long-term care facilities for patients with medically-complex conditions to be paid at the State rate for subacute care.

     The Queen's Medical Center, Healthcare Association of Hawaii, Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, AARP and Hawaii Business Roundtable supported this bill.  The Department of Human Services (DHS) opposed this bill.  The Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center and Ke Kama Pono Safe House Program provided comments.

     Your Committees recognize that the cost of health care, whether physical, mental, or emotional, continues to rise, threatening the availability of services and reducing the effectiveness of service delivery.  It is with this in mind that your Committees feel additional appropriations are necessary for emergency services at federally qualified health centers and to support safe house programs to ensure the mental and emotional health of at-risk youth.

     Your Committees have chosen to leave the appropriation amounts unspecified in acknowledgement of the delicate position in which current fiscal difficulties have placed your Committee on Finance.  Your Committees note, however, that they foresee an appropriation of $332,000 for emergency services at federally qualified health centers such as the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, and $750,000 for safe house programs such as the Ke Kama Pono Safe House Program.

     Additionally, your Committees recognize that services provided by the Department of Health and those provided by DHS often overlap.  As such, your Committees hope that this will be taken into consideration where expenditures are concerned as this bill continues through the legislative process.

     Accordingly, your Committees have amended this bill by:

     (1)  Including an unspecified appropriation for emergency services at Federally Qualified Health Centers; and

     (2)  Including an unspecified appropriation for safe house programs that ensure the mental and emotional health of at-risk youth.

     Other technical, nonsubstantive amendments have been made for clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 417, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 417, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Human Services and Health,

____________________________ RYAN I. YAMANE, Chair

____________________________ JOHN M. MIZUNO, Chair