STAND. COM. REP. NO. 459

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 446

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. 446 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PRESCRIPTION DIGITAL THERAPEUTICS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require the Department of Health to:

(1) Conduct a study to determine the feasibility of implementing a pilot program to integrate prescription digital therapeutic products (PDTs) approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in outpatient treatment programs for persons with substance use disorder and persons with opioid use disorder in the State; and

(2) Report its findings and recommendations from the study, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature prior to the Regular Session of 2024.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition; Pear Therapeutics, Inc.; and Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Health.

Your Committee finds that patients with substance use disorder experience mental health disease and comorbid medical problems at higher rates than the general population, and have higher baseline rates of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and suicide completion. Your Committee also finds that PDTs are a type of treatment that use mobile software applications, including ones that can be used on tablets and smartphones, to help prevent, manage, or treat medical and behavioral health conditions and allow patients to track their substance use, cravings, and triggers. PDTs are intended to provide cognitive behavioral therapy as an adjunct to a clinical management treatment and are currently available for patients who are eighteen years of age or older and are enrolled in outpatient treatment under the supervision of a clinician and can help patients manage a condition and improve mental health. Although the costs of PDTs are currently not covered by insurance carriers, your Committee finds that medicine and treatment incorporated with digital technologies of all kinds may improve patient health, reduce clinician workload, lower costs, reduce health disparities, and expand access to needed treatments. This measure serves as an integral step for the State in determining whether it would be feasible to incorporate PDTs into the outpatient treatment programs for patients in the State who need treatment for substance use disorder and opioid use disorder.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of December 31, 2050, to encourage further discussion; 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. 446, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 446, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

________________________________

JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair