STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2272

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 3039

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 3039 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MEDICAID PROVIDERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to authorize health care providers under Medicaid to place on the Medicaid certification and re-certification form a question to ask clients about participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and report aggregate responses to the Legislature.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from one individual.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Human Services.

     Your Committee finds that individuals that receive assistance through the state Medicaid program are likely to be eligible to participate in SNAP, commonly known as the food stamp program, as eligibility for both programs is based on income.  In October 2015, 182,226 people in Hawaii participated in SNAP, but 341,829 people in Hawaii were enrolled in Medicaid, which left 159,603 people who were enrolled in Medicaid but not in SNAP.  If these additional, eligible, 159,603 individuals participated in SNAP, the State could receive more federal funding, an estimated $247,000,000, which would ultimately be injected into the economy in Hawaii with no negative impact on the state budget.  Authorizing health care providers to question those currently receiving Medicaid benefits about their participation in SNAP can help to educate clients about the benefits available to them based on their qualifications.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3039, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3039, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services,

________________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair