STAND. COM. REP. NO. 358

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1240

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Health and Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 1240 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PEDIATRIC DENTAL HEALTH COVERAGE,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to ensure pediatric dental benefits are included in all medical plans offered through the Hawaii Health Connector.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from Hawaii Medical Service Association, Hawaii Primary Care Association, and one individual.  Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from Hawaii Dental Service.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

     Your Committees find that failure to prevent dental problems has long-term adverse health effects that are costly to families and the health care system in Hawaii as a whole.  Without regular preventative dental services, dental care for many children is postponed until symptoms become so acute that treatment is sought in hospital emergency departments, which drives up health care costs statewide.

     Your Committees also find that medical insurance is a strong predictor of access to dental care, and uninsured children are 2.5 times less likely than insured children to receive dental care.  Children from families without dental insurance are three times more likely to have dental needs than children with public or private insurance.  Your Committees further find that requiring individuals under age nineteen to purchase pediatric dental coverage inside the insurance exchange will ensure that the majority of Hawaii's children will enjoy dental benefits, reducing long-term health problems for Hawaii's keiki and driving down costs for the entire health care system.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Amending the purpose section to clarify the intent;

     (2)  Deleting the section amending the definition of "qualified plan" in section 435H-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

     (3)  Adding a new section to chapter 435H, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requiring the Hawaii Health Connector to ensure that all individuals under the age of nineteen purchase health benefits that include pediatric dental coverage; and

     (4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Commerce and Consumer Protection that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1240, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1240, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Commerce and Consumer Protection,

____________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair

____________________________ JOSH GREEN, Chair