STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1575

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.R. No. 4

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.R. No. 4 entitled:

"SENATE RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES MED-QUEST DIVISION TO EXPAND THE TYPES OF QUALIFIED PROVIDERS ALLOWED TO PROVIDE LACTATION CONSULTANT SERVICES FOR THE MEDICAID POPULATION IN THE STATE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to request that the Med-QUEST Division of the Department of Human Services expand the types of qualified providers allowed to provide lactation consultant services for the Medicaid population in the State.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Medical Service Association, Hawai‘i Maternal Infant Health Collaborative, Lactation Access Transforming Communities in Hawai‘i, and one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services and Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice.

Your Committee finds that breastfeeding provides numerous health benefits to both babies and mothers, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act mandates that health insurance plans provide breastfeeding support, counseling, and equipment for the duration of breastfeeding. Despite this mandate, Hawaii's QUEST Integration Program does not reimburse all qualified, certified providers for lactation consultant services, reducing the number of providers available to individuals covered by Medicaid. To increase access to critical maternal health care, this measure requests that Hawaii's QUEST Integration Program expand the types of providers that qualify for Medicaid reimbursement in the State.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting findings that recognize lactation consultants in the United States are often health care professionals who have obtained additional certification through the Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice's Certified Lactation Counselor Program;

(2) Inserting findings specifying that the State's QUEST Integration Program does not allow qualified providers who have obtained Certified Lactation Counselor certification to provide lactation consultant services;

(3) Requesting to include lactation consultants certified by the Certified Lactation Counselor Program as qualified providers allowed to provide lactation consultant services for the Medicaid population in the State; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments 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 concurs with the intent and purpose of S.R. No. 4, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.R. No. 4, S.D. 1.

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

________________________________

JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair