STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1097

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.C.R. No. 153

       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 Human Services and Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 153 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING CONSIDERATION OF MEDICAID EXPANSION AS 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,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to urge consideration of Medicaid coverage for Hawaii residents with income between one hundred thirty-three percent and two hundred percent of the federal poverty level.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Primary Care Association, AlohaCare, West Hawaii Community Health Center, Lanai Community Health Center, Community Alliance for Mental Health, Waikiki Health Center, and one individual.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services.

     Your Committees find that on July 1, 2012, 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.  Individuals and families with incomes between one hundred thirty-three percent and two hundred percent of the federal poverty level, also known as the "gap group," are working poor and unlikely to afford the purchase of health insurance through the Hawaii Health Connector.  Patients in the gap group often seek care at community health centers that provide fully integrated health care homes that include 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.  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.

     The Department of Human Services testified that by moving individuals out of the health insurance exchange and into a Medicaid expansion, the State would need $30,900,000 per year in general funds and lose $54,327,000 per year in federal funding.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by inserting language to urge the Department of Human Services to consult with providers to find ways to bridge coverage and propose strategies to prevent "revolving doors" for support services.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Commerce and Consumer Protection that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 153, as amended herein, and recommend that it be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 153, S.D. 1.

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

____________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair

____________________________ SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair