STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3413

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1836

H.D. 2

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred H.B. No. 1836, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to allow registered pharmacists, during declared states of emergency, to refill prescriptions for up to a thirty-day supply if the practitioner is unavailable or cannot be contacted to authorize the refill and if, in the pharmacist's professional judgment, failure to refill the prescription might interrupt the patient's ongoing care and have a significant adverse effect on the patient's well-being.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Board of Pharmacy, Hawaiʻi State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Hawaiʻi Primary Care Association, Healthcare Association of Hawaii, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Hawaii Medical Service Association, Walgreen Co., and two individuals.

Your Committee finds that even slight delays in prescription refills can have negative impacts on patient health and can be especially harmful for those with chronic health conditions, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes, that require medication to be taken every day. Your Committee further finds that during a state of emergency, patients who are unable to reach their practitioner to obtain a prescription refill authorization can go days or weeks without the medications they require, placing them at risk of worsening disease, hospitalization, or death. Therefore, this measure allows registered pharmacists to refill prescriptions during a state of emergency under certain conditions to ensure that patients can obtain their necessary medications in a timely manner.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language clarifying that refills of prescriptions without the practitioner's authorization pursuant to this measure is limited for persons directly impacted by the declared emergency;

(2) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose;

(3) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2040, to encourage further discussion; 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 Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1836, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1836, H.D. 2, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection,

________________________________

JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair