CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 93

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2019

RE: H.B. No. 1453

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

C.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sirs:

Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the House of Representatives to the amendments proposed by the Senate in H.B. No. 1453, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Authorize the Department of Health to establish reasonable fees to be collected from individuals who are transported by emergency ambulance services to a medical facility, or are treated as part of a community paramedicine program but not transported to a medical facility;

(2) Require the State's Medicaid program to provide coverage for ambulance services and permit the State's Medicaid program to provide coverage for statewide community paramedicine services by emergency services personnel; and

(3) Require private health insurance plans to cover ambulance services and statewide community paramedicine services rendered by emergency services personnel.

Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language clarifying that reasonable fees are to be established for transportation by ground ambulance only;

(2) Broadening the scope of coverage for treatment for an individual who is not subsequently transported to a health care facility to include coverage provided by all emergency services personnel, not only emergency services personnel who are acting as part of a community paramedicine program;

(3) Inserting language statutorily establishing a community paramedicine program;

(4) Permitting, rather than requiring, the State's Medicaid program to cover ground ambulance transportation services;

(5) Removing language requiring coverage of ambulance and community paramedicine services by private health insurance plans;

(6) Requiring the Department of Health to submit a report to the Legislature prior to the regular sessions of 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023;

(7) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2019; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1453, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1453, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

____________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER Chair	____________________________ JOHN M. MIZUNO Co-Chair
____________________________ SHARON Y. MORIWAKI Co-Chair	____________________________ SYLVIA LUKE Co-Chair