STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3601

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.C.R. No. 208

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 Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 208 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING THE UNTIED STATES CONGRESS AND HAWAII'S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO SUPPORT LEGISLATION ESTABLISHING MEDICARE FOR ALL,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to urge the United States Congress and Hawaii's congressional delegation to support legislation establishing Medicare for All.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Democratic Party of Hawai‘i Health Committee, and one individual.

Your Committees find that the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic led to record levels of unemployment and the loss of employer-sponsored health insurance for hundreds of thousands of Hawaii's workers. Your Committees further find that people often delay needed medical treatments due to an inability to pay for health care costs, which further jeopardizes the health of those individuals. Under a single-payer health care system, non-medical expenses nationwide could be reduced to approximately six to eight percent of total health care costs, saving more than one trillion dollars. Therefore, this measure urges the United States Congress, including Hawaii's congressional delegation, to support legislation establishing Medicare for All.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Amending its title; and

(2) 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 Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 208, as amended herein, and recommend its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 208, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs,

________________________________ CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair

________________________________ JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair