53
THE SENATE                           S.R. NO.              
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                    SENATE  RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE GOVERNOR TO CONVENE A TASK FORCE ON ALTERNATIVE
    MEDICINE.
 


 1        WHEREAS, alternative medicine has made inroads in the way
 2   Americans perceive health care in the past decade; and
 3   
 4        WHEREAS, alternative medicine therapies include herbal
 5   medicine, diet regimen, homeopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture,
 6   naturopathy, massage, oriental medicine, and meditation; and
 7   
 8        WHEREAS, alternative medicine is gaining recognition in
 9   medical schools and is being resorted to for the treatment or
10   alleviation of HIV, arthritis, cancer, pain, hypertension,
11   headache, and other medical conditions; and
12   
13        WHEREAS, the Journal of the American Medical Association
14   recently reported that the number of individuals in the country
15   who have tried one or more alternative therapies in the
16   previous year increased from 33.8 per cent in 1990 to 42.1 per
17   cent in 1997; and
18   
19        WHEREAS, Americans make more visits to nontraditional
20   physicians, such as naturopaths and chiropractors, than their
21   family doctors, and spend almost as much on out-of-pocket
22   expenses that are not reimbursed by health insurance as paid in
23   premiums for health insurance; and
24   
25        WHEREAS, in Hawaii as on the mainland, alternative
26   medicine is fluid and its record is uneven, with some
27   therapies, such as acupuncture for the relief musculo-skeletal
28   pain and postoperative pain, becoming more accepted than
29   others; and
30   
31        WHEREAS, medical clinics are including chiropractors on
32   their staff and health insurance sometimes cover chiropractic
33   services; and
34   
35        WHEREAS, Hawaii is an ideal place to stimulate the growth
36   of alternative medicine in a credible and responsible way,
37   given the plethora of medical providers in an array of
38   alternative medicine specialties and the presence of a medical
39   school at the University of Hawaii; and

 
Page 2                                                     53
                                  S.R. NO.              
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1   
 2        WHEREAS, a task force is needed in Hawaii to
 3   collaboratively examine and discuss alternative medicine,
 4   including the possibility of making alternative medicine into
 5   an economic growth instrument for Hawaii; now, therefore,
 6   
 7        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
 8   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, that the
 9   Governor is requested to create a temporary task force of a
10   two-year duration to study and report on alternative medicine
11   in Hawaii; and
12   
13        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor is requested to
14   appoint members to the task force representing the Departments
15   of Health, Human Services, Commerce and Consumer Affairs, and
16   Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Healthcare
17   Association of Hawaii; Hawaii Chapter of the American Medical
18   Association; two health plans; chiropractors; nurses; and
19   practitioners of acupuncture, homeopathy, naturopathy, native
20   Hawaiian medicine, oriental medicine, herbalists, and other
21   forms of alternative medicine deemed appropriate by the
22   Governor; and
23   
24        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor is requested to
25   appoint the representative of the Department of Health as chair
26   of the task force; and
27   
28        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force examine the
29   various forms of alternative medicine, the ways to stimulate
30   the growth of alternative medicine, and the prospects of making
31   alternative medicine into a stimulus for economic growth in
32   Hawaii; and
33   
34        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force recommend those
35   forms of alternative medicine that should be given formal
36   recognition and proposed enabling and regulatory legislation;
37   and
38   
39        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force report on
40   findings and recommendations to the Governor and the
41   Legislature as an interim report not later than March 31, 2001,
42   and as a final report not later than November 30, 2001; and
43   
44        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall dissolve
45   upon submission of its final report; and
46   

 
Page 3                                                     53
                                  S.R. NO.              
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this
 2   Resolution be transmitted to the Governor.
 3 
 4 
 5 
 6                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________