STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2812

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2467

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 2467, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH SCREENINGS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require that one annual mental health screening be included in health insurance coverage for diagnosis of mental disorders.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Disability and Communication Access Board, Stonewall Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, Rainbow Family 808, Hawai‘i Public Health Institute, and five individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Consumer and Commerce Affairs and Hawaii Medical Service Association.

Your Committee finds that mental health care is a critical tool in addressing chronic disease. Though mental health has conventionally been approached as separate and secondary to physical health, research has shown that mental illness is integral to overall health and has been linked to chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Overall health conditions could be mitigated by early detection of mental illness, as the majority of lifetime mental health conditions begin before the age of twenty-five.

Your Committee also notes that while this measure is not a new mandate, it provides clarification of current practice and continuum of care. Assessment of mental health is a critical tool in addressing chronic diseases, especially in a post-pandemic world. For individuals with disabilities, mental health screenings can ensure better care by identifying situations of dual diagnoses in which an individual with a disability also suffers from a mental health disorder.

Your Committee has amended this measure by inserting an effective date of January 1, 2023.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2467, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2467, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection,

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ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair