STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1277-22

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2022

RE: S.B. No. 2634

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 Committee on Health, Human Services, & Homelessness, to which was referred S.B. No. 2634, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate state funds required to draw down the federal matching funds to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage to twelve months following the end of pregnancy.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Human Services; Executive Office on Early Learning; Hawai‘i State Commission on the Status of Women; Disability and Communication Access Board; American Heart Association; Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates - Hawai‘i; Hawaii Family Forum; Hawaii Medical Association; Healthcare Association of Hawaii; Hawaii Association of Health Plans; Hawaii Medical Service Association; UnitedHealthcare; Hawai‘i Women Lawyers; AlohaCare; Save Medicaid Hawaii; Breastfeeding Hawaii; Hawaii Women's Coalition; The Queen's Health Systems; Hawai‘i Pacific Health; Hawai‘i Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; American Academy of Pediatrics, Hawaii Chapter; Hawai‘i Pacific Public Health Institute; Hawai‘i Children's Action Network Speaks!; Hawaii Primary Care Association; ‘Ahahui o nā Kauka; March of Dimes; Hawai‘i Maternal & Infant Health Collaborative; Kaiser Permanente Hawai‘i; Hawai‘i Public Health Association; American Association of University Women of Hawaii; and seven individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance.

Your Committee finds that the United States has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among high-income countries. As a result, there has been an increased emphasis on the importance of postpartum care, as women are more likely to die of pregnancy-related conditions during the twelve months following childbirth than during pregnancy or childbirth. Your Committee further finds that Medicaid pregnancy coverage, which pays for nearly half of all births in the United States, expires sixty days after childbirth. However, a provision in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 gives states a new option to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage to twelve months via a state plan amendment. This measure appropriates the state funds necessary to draw down federal matching funds to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage to twelve months following the end of pregnancy, which will improve health access for women and children by providing stability and continuity of care with known and trusted providers.

Your Committee has 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 record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health, Human Services, & Homelessness that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2634, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2634, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health, Human Services, & Homelessness,

____________________________

RYAN I. YAMANE, Chair