STAND. COM. REP. NO. 658

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2019

RE: H.B. No. 1273

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Health and Human Services & Homelessness, to which was referred H.B. No. 1273 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Establish an Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Medicaid Waiver Administrative Claiming Special Fund; and

(2) Establish a task force to examine and evaluate the application process of the Hawaii Medicaid section 1915(c) home and community-based services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities waiver and existing services provided by the Developmental Disabilities Division.

The Hawai‘i Psychological Association, Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition, Hawaii Self Advocates Advisory Council, O‘ahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, Arc of Kona, Hawaii Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Action Group, and two individuals testified in support of this measure. The Department of Health, Department of Human Services, Executive Office on Aging, State Council on Developmental Disabilities, and Hawaii Disability Rights Center provided comments.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Expanding the scope of the task force to include the development of appropriate materials to include in the Developmental Disabilities Division of the Department of Health's intake booklet that cover a wide spectrum of eligible conditions of developmental disabilities;

(2) Changing the sunset date on the task force to January 1, 2020;

(3) Requiring the Department of Health to revert to prior client evaluation metrics until all service providers and recipients are educated on the new evaluation metrics;

(4) Appropriating funds to the Department of Health out of the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Medicaid Waiver Administrative Claiming Special Fund for FY 2020-2021 to fulfill the purposes of this measure;

(5) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to promote further discussion; and

(6) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

Your Committees note the testimony by the Hawaii Disability Rights Center that clients have been experiencing a reduction in services as a result of a new tool being used by the Developmental Disabilities Division to re-evaluate clients. Such reductions are often not accompanied with clear explanation or with sufficient information on the client's rights, leading to a tremendous amount of confusion among the recipients of developmental disability services.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Human Services & Homelessness that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1273, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1273, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Human Services & Homelessness,

______________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair

____________________________ JOHN M. MIZUNO, Chair