STAND. COM. REP. NO. 301
Honolulu, Hawaii
S.D. 1
President of the Senate
Thirty-First State Legislature
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committees on Human Services and Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 900 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MATERNAL HEALTH,"
beg leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to:
(1) Require the Department of Human Services to collect and report data on severe maternal morbidity incidents, disaggregated by county, race, and ethnicity;
(2) Establish a Maternal Disparity and Health Equity Task Force to make recommendations on reducing maternal morbidity and improving maternal health outcomes for women, particularly women of color;
(3) Require the task force to submit an initial report to the Legislature no later than June 30, 2022, and an annual report prior to each Regular Session; and
(4) Require the Department of Human Services to develop and the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women to administer implicit bias training for health care professionals in perinatal facilities.
Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hawai‘i State Commission on the Status of Women, Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii, Hawai‘i Children's Action Network Speaks!, AlohaCare, AF3IRM Hawai‘i, Hawaii Women's Coalition, Papa Ola Lokahi, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawai‘i, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists District VIII, Hawai‘i Section, and fifty individuals. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services, Department of Health, The Queen's Health Systems, Healthcare Association of Hawaii, Hawai‘i Pacific Health, and two individuals.
Your Committees find that each year in the United States, more than fifty thousand women suffer from complications in pregnancy or childbirth that have serious consequences for the women's short- or long-term health and that a reduction in maternal morbidity in the country is critically needed to address the multiple inequities that exist throughout health care and that maternal health is no exception. Your Committees also find that although Hawaii currently collects data on incidents of severe maternal morbidity, the data is not disaggregated by race or ethnic background, making it difficult for the State to assess and meet the specific needs of women who are Black, native Hawaiian, Samoan, and other women of color. Accordingly, your Committees find that these goals are best accomplished by requiring the Department of Human Services to collect and report severe maternal morbidity data, disaggregated by race and ethnic background, and to require bias training of health care professionals.
Your Committees have
amended this measure by:
(1) Removing
the Maternal Disparity and Health Equity Task Force;
(2) Removing
the requirement for the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women to issue a certificate upon completion
of the implicit bias training;
(3) Amending
section 1 to reflect its amended purpose;
(4) Inserting an effective date of May 1, 2029,
to encourage further
discussion; and
(5) 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 Human Services and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 900, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 900, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Human Services and Health,
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________________________________ JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair |
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________________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair |
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