The Senate and House commerce and consumer protection, health, and human services committees will be holding an informational briefing to receive an update from the Hawai`i Health Connector and various state agencies regarding implementation of Hawaii's insurance exchange and other matters relating to the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The briefing will be held on Wednesday, Oct 9, 2013, in Hawai‘i State Capitol Conference Room 329 at 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
"This informational briefing provides us with an opportunity to come together to discuss the progress and challenges being faced by the Hawai‘i Health Connector following its October 1 launch," said Senator Roz Baker, chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection. "Like many health insurance marketplaces across the nation the Connector is working hard to provide information and services to the public about their health insurance choices. We want to see how the system is doing and examine other issues that impact Hawaii's health care consumers."
"There are a myriad of issues that have arisen due to the interplay between the Affordable Care Act and Hawaii's Prepaid Health Care Act," said Representative Angus McKelvey, chair of the House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce. "By engaging in a constructive discussion between the stakeholders and their respective counterparts we can better identify and address these issues."
The following individuals have been invited to participate:
• Coral Andrews, Executive Director, Hawai‘i Health Connector
• Gordon Ito, Insurance Commissioner, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs
• Tom Matsuda, ACA Implementation Manager, Officer of the Governor
• Ed Wang, Prepaid Health Care Program Chief, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations
• Dr. Kenny Fink, Administrator, Med-Quest Division, Department of Human Services
The Hawai‘i Health Connector is the online health insurance marketplace for Hawai‘i. A non-profit organization, the Connector was established by the Hawai‘i State Legislature in 2011 (Act 205), in order to comply with the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. The Connector's insurance marketplace program launched earlier this month.
This informational briefing will be broadcasted by Capitol TV.
No public testimony will be accepted.
For more information, please click here to see the Notice of Informational Briefing.
View the media release.
Governor Neil Abercrombie today signed into law a measure to establish a Emergency Medical Services Special Response Vehicle (SRV) in Ma‘alaea, Maui.
Senate Bill 498, relating to emergency medical services, appropriates $600,000 in FY 2013-2014 to create a twenty-four-hour, seven days-a-week, SRV unit based in Ma‘alaea, Maui.
"The establishment of an SRV unit based in Ma‘alaea will have a significant impact on the lives of our Maui residents, improving response times and health outcomes," said Senator Roz Baker, who represents Senate District 6, encompassing south and west Maui. "Equipped with all the appropriate life-saving, emergency response equipment and staffed by advanced life support trained paramedics, this vehicle will allow faster response times when resident ambulances are out of the district or called to remote areas. This unit is vital to stabilizing patients in the initial stage of injury, illness or cardiac arrest and will ultimately save lives in south and west Maui."
"The addition of this rapid response vehicle in Ma‘alaea will expand EMS and benefit more than just this community," said Speedy Bailey, General Manager for American Medical Response Hawaii.
"This specialized paramedic unit will provide rapid, cutting-edge advanced life support and medical incident command for Ma‘alaea and the surrounding areas," said David Kingdon, Paramedic with Maui County EMS and Instructor with the University of Hawaii. "The addition of this important EMS resource will greatly enhance our ability to adapt to the growing and changing needs of our community."
Population growth in west and south Maui has increased significantly over the years, corresponding with a steady increase of approximately 1,000 emergency medical services-related phone calls per year. The population growth, in concert with increases in call volume, has impacted the timely response capabilities of the two ambulances that serve residents in these districts, especially if emergency medical services must respond from an "out-of-district" location. The new Ma‘alaea-based SRV unit will support the two ambulances already servicing Maui, helping to reduce death and disability among residents and visitors on the island.
View the media release.