SB2918

SECTION 1. Section 323D-12, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§323D-12 Health planning and development functions; state agency. (a) The state agency shall:

(1) Have as a principal function the responsibility for promoting [accessibility for all the people of the State to quality health care services at reasonable cost. The state agency shall conduct such studies and investigations as may be necessary as to the causes of health care costs including inflation. The state agency may contract for services to implement this paragraph. The certificate of need program mandated under part V shall serve this function. The state agency shall promote the sharing of facilities or services by health care providers whenever possible to achieve economies and shall restrict unusual or unusually costly services to individual facilities or providers where appropriate;] universal access to high quality, equitable, and affordable health care for all the people of the State. For the purposes of this section, "health care" means the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people that is delivered in any setting;

(2) [Serve as staff to and provide technical assistance and advice to the statewide council and the subarea councils in the preparation, review, and revision of the state health services and facilities plan;] Provide leadership and coordination of activities and resources throughout State agencies that affect health care access and quality, including but not limited to health insurance coverage rates, health insurance benefits, affordability, workforce, reimbursement, quality, administrative simplification, and health information technology;

(3) [Conduct the health planning activities of the State in coordination with the subarea councils, implement the state health services and facilities plan, and determine the statewide health needs of the State after consulting with the statewide council; and] Issue a state health services and facilities plan, which shall include workforce considerations, and update the plan every four years after consulting with the statewide council;

(4) Administer the state certificate of need program pursuant to part V[.], and serve as staff and provide technical assistance and advice to the statewide council and subarea councils; and

(5) Develop, no later than 2027, and annually thereafter, and in consultation with the governor, the department of budget and finance, the employee-union trust fund, all public and private health plans and entities in the State providing health insurance coverage, an annual state global budget based on total costs of health care in order to prevent costs from rising faster than general inflation and to assure the affordability of health care services.

(b) The state agency may:

(1) Prepare [~~such~~] reports, related to statistics as needed to monitor and improve health care access, outcomes, equity, quality, costs and cost-effectiveness, and recommendations on Hawaii's health care costs and public or private efforts to reduce or control costs and improve health care quality as it deems necessary. The report may include[,] but not be limited to[,] a review of health insurance plans, the availability of various kinds of health insurance and malpractice insurance to consumers, and strategies for increasing competition in the health insurance field[.] and across the health care delivery system;

[~~(2)~~ ~~Prepare and revise as necessary the state health services and facilities plan.~~

~~(3)~~ ~~Prepare, review, and revise the annual implementation plan.~~]

[~~(4)~~] (2) Assist the statewide council in the performance of its functions[.];

[~~(5)~~] (3) Determine the need for new health services proposed to be offered within the State[.];

[~~(6)~~] (4) Assess existing health care services and facilities to determine whether there are redundant, excessive, or inappropriate services or facilities and make public findings of any that are found to be so. The state agency shall weigh the costs of the health care services or facilities against the benefits the services or facilities provide and there shall be a negative presumption against marginal services[.];

[~~(7)~~] (5) Provide technical assistance to persons, public or private, in obtaining and filling out the necessary forms for the development of projects and programs[.];

[~~(8)~~] (6) Prepare reports, studies, and recommendations on emerging health issues, such as medical ethics, health care rationing, involuntary care, care for the indigent, and standards for research and development of biotechnology [~~and~~], genetic engineering[.], remote monitoring, and artificial intelligence; and

[~~(9)~~] (7) Conduct such other activities as are necessary to meet the purposes of this chapter."

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2024-2025 for administrative costs and the establishment of the following positions with the state health planning and development agency:

(1) One full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) administrative specialist IV position;

(2) One full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) research statistician VI, to serve as the State health care informatician position;

(3) One full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) research statistician V, to serve as administrative data specialist position;

(4) One full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) program specialist VI, to serve as the State health planner position;

(5) One full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) program specialist IV, to serve as the State health planning liaison for the county of Hawaii position;

(6) One full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) program specialist IV, to serve as the State health planning liaison for the county of Kauai position;

(7) One full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) program specialist IV, to serve as the State health planning liaison for the county of Maui position;

(8) One full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) program specialist IV, to serve as the State health planning liaison for the city and county of Honolulu position; and

(9) One full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) CHIP coordinator SR-26 position.

SECTION 3. In accordance with section 9 of article VII of the Hawaii State Constitution and sections 37-91 and 37-93, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the legislature has determined that the appropriations contained in Act 164, Regular Session of 2023, and this Act will cause the state general fund expenditure ceiling for fiscal year 2024-2025 to be exceeded by $ or per cent. This current declaration takes into account general fund appropriations authorized for fiscal year 2024-2025 in Act 164, Regular Session of 2023, and this Act only. The reasons for exceeding the general fund expenditure ceiling are that:

(1) The appropriation made in this Act is necessary to serve the public interest; and

(2) The appropriation made in this Act meets the needs addressed by this Act.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of health for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2024.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2918
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
STATE OF HAWAII