CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 142

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2019

RE: S.B. No. 1246

S.D. 2

H.D. 2

C.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sirs:

Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 1246, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TELEHEALTH,"

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 promote the adoption of telehealth across the State by:

(1) Establishing a policy of the State to promote telehealth;

(2) Establishing the State Strategic Telehealth Advisory Council to advise the Governor on a comprehensive plan to establish telehealth as a means of health care access;

(3) Establishing and appropriating an unspecified amount of funds for the State Telehealth Coordinator position to support the Council; and

(4) Requiring the Department of Health to establish and convene a Telehealth Administrative Simplification Working Group to research and make recommendations to reduce administrative barriers to telehealth.

Your Committee on Conference finds that there is a shortage of health care professionals in the State and this shortage is most severe in rural areas. Telehealth is a proven way to facilitate timely access to quality health care, improve health outcomes, reduce the incidence of avoidable urgent and emergency care, and ensure equitable distribution of health care providers to patients who would not otherwise have access to medical services. Your Committee on Conference further finds that this measure establishes permanent resources to increase the visibility of telehealth, enable the Department of Health to continue working with community stakeholders, and move the State closer to achieving its telehealth goals.

Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

(1) Removing language that would have exempted the working group from the requirements of chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

(2) Permitting less than a quorum of the working group's members to discuss official business outside of official working group meetings as long as no commitment to vote is made or sought;

(3) Dissolving the State Strategic Telehealth Advisory Council on July 1, 2022;

(4) Changing the name of the State Telehealth Coordinator to the State Telehealth and Health Care Access Coordinator and making associated conforming amendments;

(5) Inserting an appropriation amount of $110,000 for each year of the fiscal biennium;

(6) Authorizing the establishment of one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) permanent State Telehealth and Health Care Access Coordinator position;

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

(8) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

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 S.B. No. 1246, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1246, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

____________________________ JOHN M. MIZUNO Co-Chair	____________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER Chair
____________________________ BERTRAND KOBAYASHI Co-Chair	____________________________ J. KALANI ENGLISH Co-Chair