STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2653

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2126

       S.D. 2

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2126, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH CARE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to consolidate the authority, duties, responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the Department of Human Services and Department of Health, as they relate to various health care services, by transferring to the Department of Health, Office of Health Care Assurance, on July 1, 2014, the programs of the Department of Human Services relating to:

     (1)  Home and community-based case management;

     (2)  Community care foster family homes; and

     (3)  Adult day care.

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Human Services.

     Your Committee finds that the Department of Health, Office of Health Care Assurance, manages state licensing and federal certification of medical and health care facilities, agencies, and services.  Given the Office's existing functions, your Committee finds that certain health care services currently provided by the Department of Human Services and the Department of Health should be consolidated into one office to improve the efficiency, capacity, and quality of state health care services.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Adding to chapter 321, Hawaii Revised Statutes, a new part relating to adult day care, which contains the substance of chapter 346, part IV, subpart A (sections 346-81 to 346-85), Hawaii Revised Statutes, and repealing the existing subpart in chapter 346;

     (2)  Deleting the duplicative and unnecessary requirement that community care foster family homes be required to reserve at least one bed for medicaid patients because they are already required to do so, by definition;

     (3)  Deleting the obsolete requirement that the Department of Health establish a review board, as this task is the responsibility of the case management agencies;

     (4)  Retaining the Department of Human Services' responsibility to establish standards and conduct criminal history checks in relation to purchase of service contracts and the related service providers and their employees;

     (5)  Deleting references to the "retired and senior volunteer program", which was terminated in 2011 and transferred to the City and County of Honolulu;

     (6)  Deleting the definition of the term "assisted living facility" because the term is already defined in section 321-15.21, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

     (7)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2126, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2126, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair