STAND. COM. REP. NO.  930-12

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2012

RE:   H.B. No. 2415

      H.D. 2

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 2415, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MEDICAID,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure, as received by your Committee, is to improve the efficiency of the Medicaid system by:

     (1)  Requiring certain Medicaid recipients to pay a copayment for prescription drugs covered under the recipients' Medicaid benefits in accordance with a system developed by the Department of Human Services;

     (2)  Waiving the copayment for prescription drugs for recipients under 21 years of age, terminally ill recipients certified at hospice level of care, and recipients in nursing facilities or in home- or community-based settings that provide a certified intermediate care facility or skilled nursing facility level of care; and

     (2)  Requiring the Department of Human Services to seek the approval of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services prior to the establishment and implementation of such a system.

The Hawaii Medical Service Association supported the measure.  Hoola Lahui Hawaii, United Self Help, and a concerned individual opposed the measure.  The Department of Human Services, Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, Hawaii Pharmacists Association, and CVS Caremark offered comments on the measure.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Specifying that copayment for prescription drug requirements shall apply to medicaid recipients for whom Medicaid is the primary insurer;

     (2)  Lowering from under 21 years to under 19 years, the age for which copayment requirements shall not apply and including pregnant medicaid recipients in that copayment exemption;

     (3)  Specifying that copayment amounts shall be equal to the lowest tier amounts under the Medicare Part D low-income subsidy; 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. 2415, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2415, H.D. 2.

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

____________________________

MARCUS R. OSHIRO, Chair