HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.R. NO. |
116 |
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013 |
H.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE RESOLUTION
URGING CONSIDERATION IN SEEKING A VIABLE SOLUTION TO PROVIDE INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR HAWAII RESIDENTS WITH INCOME BETWEEN ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-THREE PERCENT AND TWO HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL.
WHEREAS, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148) was enacted by the United States Congress on March 30, 2010, together with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-152); and
WHEREAS, on July 1, 2012, to prepare for implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, individuals in Hawaii earning more than one hundred thirty-three percent of the federal poverty level were dropped from Medicaid coverage and left without health insurance; and
WHEREAS, individuals and families with incomes between one hundred thirty-three percent and two hundred percent of the federal poverty level comprise the working poor; also known as the "gap group," these individuals and families are unlikely to afford the purchase of health insurance through the Hawaii Health Connector; and
WHEREAS, the health care needs of the gap group and low-income earners in Hawaii are more complex than higher wage earners, often requiring multiple support systems more aligned with a Medicaid benefit package than a commercial insurance benefit package; and
WHEREAS, patients in the gap group often seek care at community health centers that provide fully integrated health care homes which offer the array of preventive, medical, primary, dental, behavioral, social, and enabling services that are needed to attain favorable outcomes for patients with complex and interrelated medical and social challenges; and
WHEREAS, the Compacts of Free Association population, which the federal government has not supported under the Medicaid program, has very few individuals in the gap group and therefore will not represent an added cost to the state general fund; and
WHEREAS, the federal government will support two hundred percent of the Medicaid expansion for the gap group; and
WHEREAS, the two predominant options for Hawaii to pursue in offering health care coverage for individuals earning more than one hundred thirty-three percent of the federal poverty level are expansion of Medicaid or the Hawaii Health Connector; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, that this body urges consideration in seeking a viable solution to provide insurance coverage for Hawaii residents with incomes between one hundred thirty-three percent and two hundred percent of the federal poverty level; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Health, Director of Human Services, Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Insurance Commissioner, and Executive Director of the Hawaii Health Connector.
Insurance Coverage; Medicaid Expansion; Gap-Group