STAND. COM. REP. NO. 737

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1178

       S.D. 2

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 1178, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to:

     (1)  Require the Department of Health to review the emergency plans of all dialysis centers in the State; and

     (2)  Post a list on the Department's website of all dialysis centers in Hawaii that have backup emergency generators with the capacity to sustain dialysis treatments and maintain their water treatment system in the event of a power outage.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by one private citizen.  Comments were submitted by the Department of Health.  Written testimony presented to your Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

     Your Committee acknowledges that the Department of Health currently conducts Medicare certification surveys on all dialysis providers in the State, based on federal requirements of Medicare certified facilities that include emergency preparedness and affiliation arrangements.  Your Committee, however, finds that power outages can place dialysis patients in a perilous health situation.  It is critical that dialysis centers are adequately prepared for such events and that dialysis patients have readily available information regarding which dialysis centers will be equipped to handle dialysis treatments during a power outage.

     Your Committee has amended this measure to make technical, nonsubstantive changes for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1178, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1178, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection,

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair