STAND. COM. REP. NO. 622

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1615

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 1615 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require the Developmental Disabilities Division of the Department of Health to amend its eligibility criteria for the Medicaid Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Home and Community-Based Services Waiver (HCBS I/DD waiver) to include individuals having an intellectual or a developmental disability and a comorbid mental illness.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Keiki Education Living Independent Institute dba K.E.L.I.I. Foundation, Hawaii Disability Rights Center, and five individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Health and Department of Human Services.

Your Committee finds that existing eligibility criteria for the HCBS I/DD waiver unfairly excludes a number of individuals who would otherwise be eligible for services based on their developmental disabilities. This measure will allow individuals who have an intellectual or a developmental disability and a comorbid mental illness to be eligible for the HCBS I/DD waiver.

Your Committee acknowledges testimony that administration of the State's health care services made available to individuals in need, including Medicaid, is fragmented between two separate agencies simultaneously providing services for the same or similar types of individuals. This causes extreme difficulty for people trying to navigate the systems, even more so by individuals with multiple complex needs. Therefore, your Committee strongly urges the Department of Human Services and the Department of Health to work in collaboration to establish a system that would enable the public, especially individuals with a disability, to better navigate through the various services that are available to them.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting a blank appropriation amount for the Department of Health to carry out this measure, including funding for establishing an unspecified number of full-time equivalent positions; and

(2) Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

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. 1615, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1615, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Ways and Means.

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

________________________________

JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair