STAND. COM. REP. NO. 565

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 298

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. 298 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds to increase funding for Medicaid in-home services, conditioned on the Department of Human Services obtaining maximum federal matching funds and pursuing all other funding sources.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the State Council on Developmental Disabilities and one individual.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services.

Your Committee finds that most of the State's kupuna would prefer to live in their own homes for as long as possible, and that in-home services are key to ensuring kupuna and people with disabilities stay in their own homes. Your Committee further finds that there is tremendous wage pressure for direct care workers in home settings, given the highly competitive labor market in the State for similar-paying jobs. This measure increases funding of Medicaid in-home services.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that would have required the Department of Human Services to:

(A) Obtain the maximum federal matching funds available for this measure's proposed expenditure; and

(B) Pursue all funding sources known to the State, including private grants, prior to expending any general revenues appropriated pursuant to this measure; and

(2) Inserting an effective date of December 31, 2050, to encourage further discussion.

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. 298, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 298, 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