STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3108

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.C.R. No. 94

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Health and Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 94 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS TO CONDUCT A STUDY TO PROMOTE WORKPLACE WELLNESS PROGRAMS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Department of Health and the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to conduct a study to promote workplace wellness programs.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, HGEA, and American Heart Association.

     Your Committees find that sixty percent of Americans receive health insurance through an employment-based plan and that the workplace has become a critical venue for investments in health.  Employers that have adopted wellness programs see a substantial return on investments within a few years, with medical costs reduced by approximately $3.27 for every dollar spent on wellness programs and absentee costs reduced by $2.73 for every dollar invested.  Your Committees further find that there are mutual benefits to instituting an effective workplace wellness program, as the long-term health and productivity of employees improve and health care and absenteeism costs decrease; furthermore, a wellness program adds a recruitment and retention incentive for top employees and improves the corporate image.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Judiciary and Labor that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 94 and recommend that it be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Judiciary and Labor,

____________________________ CLAYTON HEE, Chair

____________________________ JOSH GREEN, M.D., Chair