HR176.DOC

WHEREAS, diabetes is one of the biggest public health challenges facing Americans; and

WHEREAS, according to the American Diabetes Association, 25.8 million children and adults in the United States, or 8.3 per cent of the population, have diabetes; and

WHEREAS, the 2010 Hawaii Diabetes Plan states that more than 110,000 persons in Hawaii have diabetes and that approximately 39,000 of said persons do not yet know of their illness; and

WHEREAS, population studies have found that amongst persons who have been diagnosed with diabetes, a variety of risk factors compound to make the development of cardiovascular disease two to four times more likely, with heart disease and stroke causing 65 percent of deaths, ultimately propelling diabetes to be deemed the seventh leading cause of death in Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, diabetes is the leading cause of an array of emotionally and fiscally disconcerting health problems and the origin of annual change in the number of persons with kidney disease, eye disease and amputations which have in turn resulted in: 40,000 new cases of kidney failure, 12,000-24,000 new cases of blindness, and 82,000 non-traumatic limb amputations; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii currently has approximately 2900 residents needing regular dialysis treatments and an additional 156,000 residents with chronic kidney disease (CKD), which leads eventually to the need for dialysis treatments or kidney transplants; and

WHEREAS, the tragic closures of multiple local hospitals, including Liliha's HMC East, has left a significant gap in the medical care services, including dialysis treatments, available to people in the state of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, patients need dialysis centers in different geographic locales throughout the state in order to maintain normal lifestyles while having access to services; and

WHEREAS, there currently exists within the Department of Health the Diabetes Prevention and Control Program, which includes the Hawaii Diabetes Coalition and the Hawaii Diabetes Task Force; and

WHEREAS, the existing Hawaii Diabetes Task Force is designed to meet on a biennial basis, with the sole intended purpose of reviewing, and revising as needed the Hawaii State Practice Recommendations for healthcare professionals that can assist with the licensing of new dialysis and diabetes prevention centers in Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, prevention measures that inform and educate the public about the risks associated with diabetes provided by this task force are needed to implement the appropriate application of evidence-based strategies for lifestyle behavior modification that mitigate the high costs to the nation's health care system; and

WHEREAS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is the national organization that oversees the licensing and certification of new facilities for inclusion in the Medicare program; and

WHEREAS, the current licensure and certification process outlined by Medicare and Medicaid Services is one that is arduous and hinders new dialysis clinics and diabetes prevention centers from opening; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii dialysis patients require a streamlined certification process that will allow more dialysis and diabetes prevention centers to open and deal with the current epidemic effecting every segment of our state's population; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2012, that the Hawaii Diabetes Task Force is created within the Department of Health, and shall exist as a sixteen member task force, comprised of the following members:

(1) A representative appointed by the governor;

(2) The director of health or the director's designee;

(3) The director of human services or the director's designee;

(4) The superintendent of education or the superintendent's designee;

(5) The chairperson of the board of education or the chairperson's designee;

(6) The attorney general or the attorney general's designee;

(7) The director of taxation or the director's designee;

(8) The director of finance or the director's designee;

(9) The director of commerce and consumer affairs or the director's designee;

(10) A representative from the University of Hawaii department of public health sciences;

(11) A representative from the University of Hawaii John A. Burns school of medicine;

(12) A representative from the American Heart Association;

(13) A representative from the American Cancer Association;

(14) A representative from the American Diabetes Association;

(15) The speaker of the house of representatives or the speaker's designee; and

(16) The senate president or the president's designee; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall develop and recommend legislation, assemble accurate research of the best practices implemented by other state and county organizational policy agendas related to diabetes prevention policies, and develop a plan to raise awareness, create a central website for the State of Hawaii to provide convenient access to testing, and work with local public schools across the State of Hawaii to produce public service announcements taking into account socioeconomic and multicultural differences; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall meet at least monthly from July 2012 to November 2012; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall report its findings and recommendations on diabetes prevention, including any proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session each year; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall explore options to revise the current policies and procedures for licensure and certification of new dialysis and diabetes prevention centers, enacted by Medicare and Medicaid Services, for the benefit of the people of Hawaii in need of dialysis treatments; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to Hawaii's Congressional delegation, the Governor of the State of Hawaii, the Director of the State Department of Health, the Director of the State Department of Human Services, the Director of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the Director of the Department of Education, the American Cancer Society, the Restaurant Association, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, and the President of the Hawaii Association of Health Plans.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Diabetes; Task Force

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	176
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012
STATE OF HAWAII