STAND. COM. REP. NO. 456

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2023

RE: H.B. No. 1357

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Human Services and Health & Homelessness, to which was referred H.B. No. 1357 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CARE HOMES,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds for back payments in the amount of $2,500 per Medicaid-eligible client under the care of licensed or certified Community Care Foster Homes, Type-I Adult Residential Care Homes, Expanded Adult Residential Care Homes, and Developmental Disabilities Domiciliary Homes.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Big Island Adult Foster Home Care Operators, Big Island Adult Foster Home Organization, Caring Hands Foster Home, and eleven individuals. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Human Services, Adult Foster Homecare Association of Hawaii, Untied Caregivers of Hawaii, Community Homecare Association of Hawaii, Alliance of Professional Primary Care Administrators, and Provider Helping Hands of Hawaii.

Your Committees find that home and community-based services providers carryout essential and necessary services to the State's elderly and vulnerable populations. Your Committees further find that additional funds for these providers would help address rising costs and increased demand for services.

Your Committees are cognizant of the financial burdens facing Community Care Foster Homes, Type-I Adult Residential Care Homes, Expanded Adult Residential Care Homes, and Developmental Disabilities Domiciliary Homes providers. However, your Committees note that seeking the additional payments proposed by this measure may jeopardize the proposed $30,000,000 annual pay increase for community based caregivers.

Your Committees are also concerned that providing additional enhanced payments to providers may potentially violate state or federal Medicaid laws. Your Committees therefore request the Department of Human Services' Med-QUEST Division to provide additional information to your Committee on Finance, should it deliberate on this measure, identifying if enhanced payments have been made to Community Care Foster Homes, Type-I Adult Residential Care Homes, Expanded Adult Residential Care Homes, and Developmental Disabilities Domiciliary Homes providers and whether the provision of additional enhanced payments to these providers would violate any state or federal Medicaid laws.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Amending the appropriation to provide enhanced payments to certain care home providers, rather than back payments; and

(2) Changing the effective date to July 30, 3000, to encourage further discussion.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Health & Homelessness that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1357, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1357, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Human Services and Health & Homelessness,

____________________________ DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair

____________________________ JOHN M. MIZUNO, Chair