STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2067

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2371

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 2371 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LIMITED BENEFIT HEALTH INSURANCE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to exclude any new provision enacted after July 1, 2010, from applying to accident-only, specified disease, hospital indemnity, long-term care, or other limited benefit health insurance policies unless the provision expressly states that it is applicable to these types of policies.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the intent of this measure with amendments from the American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus (AFLAC) and the American Council of Life Insurers.  Your Committee received testimony commenting on this measure from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. 

     Written testimony presented to the Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

     Your Committee finds that because the nature of limited benefit health insurance policies is fundamentally different from primary health insurance policies, the requirements imposed upon primary health insurance policies can be inappropriate for limited benefit health insurance policies and they should be accepted from future provisions.  Your Committee further finds that this will reduce waste, duplicative requirements, and inapposite legislation from applying to limited benefit health insurance policies.  

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Including language that that adds Medicare supplement policies to the list of limited benefit health insurance policies that this measure applies to;

     (2)  Including language to include disability, dental and vision policies to the list of limited benefit health insurance policies that this measure applies to; and

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive changes to ensure clarity and accuracy in the language of this measure.

     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. 2371, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2371, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection.

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

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair