STAND. COM. REP. NO. 324

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1424

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 1424 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CREDENTIALING OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require the Department of Health to:

(A) Establish a two-year Centralized Health Care Credentialing Pilot Program that reduces duplicative activities required for the credentialing of health care providers by hospitals, universities, clinics, health plans, and independent practice associations;

(B) Convene an advisory committee for the Centralized Health Care Credentialing Pilot Program; and

(C) Submit reports to the Legislature; and

(2) Appropriate funds.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, Hawaiʻi Primary Care Association, and two individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Medical Service Association.

Your Committee finds that the credentialing of health care providers is a well-established risk management and patient safety practice that involves the collection and verification of a health care provider's qualifications required for a health care provider to render services and receive reimbursement from insurance providers. Your Committee further finds that the health care credentialing process involves the verification and periodic reverification of a nearly identical set of core information for the same pool of health care providers, and that duplicative credentialing diverts resources from other priorities, including patient care, and contributes to higher health care costs. This measure establishes the Centralized Health Care Credentialing Pilot Program to reduce unnecessary paperwork, improve provider recruitment and retention, and ultimately increase patient access to health care.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of December 31, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) 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 retaining the appropriation amount of $250,000 for the establishment and administration of the two-year Centralized Health Care Credentialing Pilot Program.

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. 1424, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1424, 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,

________________________________

JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair