STAND. COM. REP. NO. 315
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: S.B. No. 1592
S.D. 1
Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi
President of the Senate
Thirty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2023
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 1592 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE SENIOR MEDICARE PATROL PROGRAM,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds for three full-time equivalent (3.0 FTE) Program Specialist positions within the Executive Office on Aging for the State's Senior Medicare Patrol Program.
Your Committee
received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health
Executive Office on Aging, Policy Advisory Board for Elder Affairs, Kūpuna Caucus of the Democratic
Party of Hawai‘i, AARP Hawai‘i, and ten individuals.
Your Committee finds that the safety and
welfare of the State's kupuna is a priority.
The State's Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) Program educates, assists, and
protects Hawaii's most vulnerable population by providing one-to-one
counseling, conducting community outreach, and working with other service
providers to build a "help net" to assist kupuna statewide. While the State's SMP Program was established
to protect kupuna from Medicare fraud, it has since expanded and established a
network of partnerships across the finance, technology, legal, and retail
industries to help kupuna triage non-health related fraud cases. The State's SMP Program also serves as a
reliable source of accurate information and responsive assistance with
Medicare, Medicaid, and other health-related scams. Despite significant increases in scam
incidences, the program continues to employ just two temporary full-time staff
positions and relies upon volunteers to provide services. To meet the increased demand for services,
this measure expands the capacity of the State's SMP Program by appropriating
funds for three Program Specialist positions.
Your Committee has
amended this measure by:
(1) Inserting a blank appropriation amount;
(2) Inserting an effective date of December 31,
2050, to encourage further
discussion; and
(3) Making
technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and
consistency.
Should your Committee on Ways and Means choose to deliberate on this measure, your Committee respectfully requests that it consider inserting an appropriation amount of $229,680.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health and Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1592, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1592, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health and Human Services,
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________________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair |
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