STAND. COM. REP. NO. 818

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 397

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 397 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HOSPITAL SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to extend the hospital sustainability program for two years.

This measure also:

     (1)  Amends the definition of "net patient service revenue" by specifying the data to be used in calculating net patient service revenue;

     (2)  Clarifies the exemption from the hospital sustainability fee for outpatient services and authorizes the Department of Human Services to exempt any facility as needed to meet federal standards; and

     (3)  Appropriate funds out of the hospital sustainability program special fund for fiscal biennium 2017-2019 for purposes consistent with the special fund.

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, the East Hawaii Region of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, the Department of Human Services, The Queen's Health Systems, Healthcare Association of Hawaii, and the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii.

     Your Committee finds that the hospital sustainability fee program has successfully leveraged federal funds to increase hospital reimbursements from the MedQUEST programs, stemmed losses to hospitals in the community, and helped maintain access to care for medicaid recipients.

     Your Committee has made a technical nonsubstantive amendment to correct the quoted text of Act 217, Session Laws of Hawaii 2012, in sections 5 and 6 of the measure, to reflect the printed version of the Session Laws.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 397, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 397, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

________________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair