STAND. COM. REP. NO. 779

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 164

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 164, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LOAN REPAYMENT FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to increase access to healthcare in underserved areas of the State.

Specifically, this measure appropriates moneys to the Department of Health for the Hawaii State Loan Repayment Program, which provides loan repayments for health care professionals who commit to work in federally-designated health professional shortage areas.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Health, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, University of Hawaii, Hawaii Primary Care Association, Healthcare Association of Hawaii, Hawaii Pacific Health, Hawai`i State Center for Nursing, The Queen's Health System, Hawaii Medical Association, Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition, Hawaii Psychological Association, and two individuals.

Your Committee finds that, since September 2012, the Hawaii State Loan Repayment Program has supported seventy-six recipients in exchange for commitments from the recipients to work in underserved geographic practice areas in the State. Your Committee further finds that approximately eighty percent of these program participants have remained in Hawaii and more than half have remained at the site at which they performed their service under the program.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the appropriation from $1,000,000 to an unspecified sum to facilitate further discussion on the measure; and

(2) Correcting the names of National Health Service Corps and the Maui Community Correctional Center.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 164, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 164, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair