STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2139

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2798

       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. 2798 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO INSURER REQUIREMENTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to require all commercial health care insurers operating in Hawaii to timely share with the Department of Human Services a listing of the insurers' members for a cross-reference check of prospective and current Medicaid beneficiaries.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Human Services, the Consumer Family & Youth Alliance, Papa Ola Lokahi, and one individual.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Insurance Division of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, the Hawaii Association of Health Plans, and HMSA.

     Your Committee finds that when Congress passed the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, P.L. 109-171, it made a number of amendments to the Social Security Act intended to strengthen states' ability to identify and collect from liable third party payors that are legally responsible to pay claims primary to Medicaid.  This measure will assist the Department of Human Services in collecting amounts that are payable by third party payors before the amounts are payable by Medicaid, which is the payor of last resort for health insurance.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by 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. 2798, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2798, 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 Human Services,

____________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair