STAND. COM. REP. NO. 536

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1348

       S.D. 2

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1348, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAII HEALTH INSURANCE EXCHANGE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish a health insurance exchange to, among other things, facilitate the purchase and sale of qualified health plans in compliance with the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

     This measure also establishes the state health insurance exchange task force within the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to recommend policies and procedures to further define and operate the health insurance exchange.

     Your Committee received comments in support of this measure from Gordon Ito, State Insurance Commissioner, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs; Jennifer Diesman, Vice President, Government Relations, Hawaii Medical Service Association; George S. Massengale, JD, Director of Government Relations, American Cancer Society; Dan Domizio, PA, MPH, Clinical Programs Director, Puna Community Medical Center; and Lyn Moku, Office Manager, National Multiple Sclerosis.

     Your Committee finds that under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services is scheduled to determine the State's ability to create a health insurance exchange in 2013 and the exchange must be up and running by 2014.  If the State has not made sufficient progress in creating its exchange, the State will face the possibility that the United States Department of Health and Human Services will unilaterally establish an exchange for the State, effectively taking over the State's health care system.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050 in order to facilitate continued discussion on the matter; and

(2)  Making technical nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1348, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1348, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair