STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2072

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2309

       S.D. 1

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 2309 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LONG-TERM CARE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to implement the long-term care partnership program, which allows individuals to qualify for Medicaid coverage for continued long-term care prior to exhausting their assets.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs; the American Council of Life Insurers; Consumer, Family, and Youth Alliance; the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors Hawaii; and two individuals.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Human Services and the Policy Advisory Board for Elder Affairs.

     Your Committee finds that as a matter of policy, families should be encouraged to provide for their own financial well-being.  The partnership program allows people to preserve some of their assets and still qualify for Medicaid by purchasing a "partnership" long-term care policy or exchanging an existing policy for a partnership policy.

     Your Committee further finds that the measure as drafted does not appear to accurately reflect the requirements of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Ensuring consistency and compliance with the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 by:

          (A)  Amending the purpose section in the proposed new chapter in section 1 to encourage people to purchase long-term care insurance instead of combining funds from private long-term care insurance and Medicaid;

          (B)  Amending the definitions of "certified long-term care insurance partnership policy" and "partnership" and adding a definition for "state medicaid agency";

          (C)  Deleting language that set a minimum level of coverage under the partnership program;

          (D)  Requiring the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, rather than the Department of Human Services, to certify the policies or plans; and

          (E)  Deleting language that required the adoption of certain rules that would have either violated the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 or are unnecessary; and

     (2)  Deleting section 2, which amended section 431:10H-221, Hawaii Revised Statutes, as it is unnecessary, and the topic of exchanges would be addressed in section 1 of this measure; and

     (3)  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 Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2309, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2309, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services,

____________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair