STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1366-22

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2022

RE: S.B. No. 2597

S.D. 1

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Health, Human Services, & Homelessness and Higher Education & Technology, to which was referred S.B. No. 2597, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LOAN REPAYMENT FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds for the Hawaii State Loan Repayment Program administered through the John A. Burns School of Medicine to provide loan repayment for health care professionals who agree to work in a federally-designated health professional shortage area.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Hawai‘i Primary Care Association, Hawai‘i Pacific Health, Hawaii Medical Association, Healthcare Association of Hawaii, The Queen's Health Systems, Hawaii Psychiatric Medical Association, Kaiser Permanente Hawai‘i, and one individual. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance.

Your Committees find that the John A. Burns School of Medicine currently administers the Hawaii State Loan Repayment Program, which provides student loan repayments for health care professionals who agree to work in a federally-designated health professional shortage area. This program leverages public funds and private donations to access matching federal funds through the National Health Service Corps State Loan Repayment Program of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

Your Committees further find that the Hawaii State Loan Repayment program has achieved considerable success in educating, training, and recruiting health care professionals to work in underserved areas. Since September 1, 2012, the loan repayment program has supported sixty-four recipients in exchange for work commitments in underserved geographic practice areas in Hawaii, eighty-three percent of whom have remained in the State to practice after graduation. The state matching funds appropriated by this measure will enable the John A. Burns School of Medicine to draw down as much federal money as possible and allow the program to provide loan repayment to more health care professionals, which will help in the ongoing efforts to alleviate the health care professional shortages in the State.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2060, to encourage further discussion; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health, Human Services, & Homelessness and Higher Education & Technology that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2597, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2597, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health, Human Services, & Homelessness and Higher Education & Technology,

____________________________ GREGG TAKAYAMA, Chair

____________________________ RYAN I. YAMANE, Chair