STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2449

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2624

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Health and Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 2624 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require the Department of Health to:

(1) Implement a telehealth pilot project, which is exempt from the Hawaii Public Procurement Code for twelve months, and publish an evaluation report on the telehealth pilot project outcomes; and

(2) Implement and administer a rural health care pilot project to provide physicians serving selected rural areas with an availability fee and reimbursements for certain expenses.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, University of Hawai‘i System, State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Disability and Communication Access Board, Hawai‘i Pacific Health, Hawai‘i Primary Care Association, Hawai‘i Public Health Institute, The Queen's Health Systems, and eight individuals. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance and one individual.

Your Committees find that many residents in the State, particularly those living in rural areas and on the neighbor islands, are unable to obtain timely and appropriate health care due to a shortage of health care providers. While telehealth is a viable and available solution to this problem, the use of telehealth is still limited in the State. This measure establishes a telehealth pilot project to encourage the use of telehealth to patients and providers in the State. This measure also establishes the rural health care pilot project to pay an availability fee to health care providers serving rural areas.

Your Committees acknowledge the testimony of the Department of Health, which recommends expanding the rural health care pilot project to include nurse practitioners in addition to physicians practicing in a medical specialty that is difficult for rural residents to access.

Therefore, your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Adding to the pilot project, nurse practitioners practicing in a medical specialty that is difficult for rural residents to access;

(2) Requiring, rather than authorizing, the Department of Health to contract with eligible physicians and hospitals for the rural health care pilot project; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Commerce and Consumer Protection that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2624, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2624, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

________________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair

________________________________ JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair