STAND. COM. REP. NO. 902

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1615

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1615, S.D. 1, entitled:

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

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) 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; and

(2) Appropriate an unspecified amount of funds to the Department of Health, which includes funding for establishing an unspecified number of full-time equivalent positions, to address amending its eligibility criteria for the HCBS I/DD waiver.

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

Your Committees find that the navigation, access, and coverage of Medicaid services under the State's present system of care can be complicated to understand and that the accessibility and utilization of essential services can be particularly challenging for certain individuals. This measure seeks to close the gap in services for those with an intellectual or developmental disability and a comorbid mental illness by allowing all individuals who are diagnosed with an intellectual or developmental disability and a comorbid mental illness to be eligible for home and community-based services, regardless of the institutional level of care needed.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1615, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1615, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Ways and Means,

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair

________________________________ JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair