SCR18.DOC

WHEREAS, obesity is a major health and economic concern for Hawaii and the nation, causing higher medical costs and lower quality of life; and

WHEREAS, in Hawaii adult obesity has more than doubled between 1995 and 2009 and childhood obesity increased by 38% from 1999 and 2009; and

WHEREAS, in Hawaii one in three children entering kindergarten is overweight or obese and one in two adults is overweight or obese; and

WHEREAS obesity-related medical expenditures in Hawaii were calculated to be over $470 million in 2009, and are continuing to rise; and

WHEREAS, obesity is a complex and multifaceted issue requiring the collaboration of stakeholders in government, non-profit, private and health care sectors to create systematic large-scale environmental changes; and

WHEREAS, stakeholders must be educated about the provisions of the Affordable Care Act and of the ongoing efforts of the Hawaii Healthcare Project and how these changes affect Hawaii's health care system; and

WHEREAS, the passage of the Affordable Care Act provides an opportunity to assess gaps in healthcare providers' ability to prevent and treat obesity in Hawaii; and

WHEREAS the payment structure for health care providers offering services and counseling related to obesity prevention and treatment must be improved; and

WHEREAS, health care providers must be educated about reimbursable medical costs related to obesity prevention and treatment under the new ACA guidelines so that they may be compensated for the provision of these services; and

WHEREAS, health care providers must be encouraged to provide services and counseling to overweight and obese patients; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED that government, non-profit, and private health care organizations collaborate to increase the provision of obesity-related services and counseling by health care providers as mandated under the new Affordable Care Act guidelines; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to establish the Obesity Prevention Healthcare Reimbursement Task Force tasked with:

(1) Assessing gaps in health care providers' ability to prevent and provide treatment for obesity-related services and counseling;

(2) Investigating providers' reimbursement options for the provision of these services;

(3) Educating providers about these reimbursement options; and

(4) Encouraging providers' utilization of reimbursement options; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the director of health will appoint up to twenty five task force members having demonstrated interest in and having backgrounds beneficial to assisting the function of the task force, including members having extensive knowledge, expertise, or experience in such areas as obesity prevention, healthcare, the affordable care act, healthcare coding, nutrition and physical activity, and related areas; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to research how other states are implementing obesity prevention reimbursement practices; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to develop recommendations for increasing the provision of obesity-related services and counseling by health care providers through additional International Classification of Diseases, ninth edition and tenth edition codes, training and education, or other strategies; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2014; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the task force serve without compensation and receive no reimbursement for expenses; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to assist the task force by providing a facilitator; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force cease to exist on June 30, 2014; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Director of Health, Director of Human Services, and the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Obesity Prevention-Related Services; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	18
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013
STATE OF HAWAII