STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1334-24

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2024

RE: S.B. No. 2285

S.D. 2

H.D. 2

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred S.B. No. 2285, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE STATE HEALTH PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Clarify the definition of "health care" for purposes of health planning and resource development and health care cost control by the State Health Planning and Development Agency;

(2) Amend the functions and duties of the State Health Planning and Development Agency;

(3) Establish a task force known as the Hui Hoʻomana within the State Health Planning and Development Agency; and

(4) Appropriate funds to the State Health Planning and Development Agency for administrative costs and to establish positions.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Human Services; Executive Office on Aging; State Health Planning and Development Agency; University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine; University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Nancy Atmospera-Walch School of Nursing; State Council on Developmental Disabilities; Hawaii Primacy Care Association; and AlohaCare. Your Committee received comments on this measure from Hawaiʻi Pacific Health; Healthcare Association of Hawaii; and Hawaii Medical Service Association.

Your Committee finds that it is paramount that residents in the State have access to affordable, quality, and equitable health care. The risks from the fragmentation of health care are of great concern in Hawaii due to the size and geographic distribution of the population across the various islands and where health care services are delivered almost entirely through a system of nonprofit providers. Your Committee further finds that, at its inception, the State Health Planning and Development Agency was established to be the State's health oversight agency. This measure will solidify the Agency's authority as a health oversight agency to ensure that all residents of the State have access to high-quality, equitable, and affordable health and long-term care services.

Your Committee also finds that the Hui Hoʻomana established by this measure will provide an important means of achieving a multi-stakeholder vision for the ideal future of health care in Hawaii, including input from state agencies, the public and private health sectors, and consumer and neighbor island perspectives.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting the requirement that the representatives from the Statewide Health Coordinating Council on the Hui Hoʻomana be confirmed by the Senate; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2285, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2285, S.D. 2, H.D. 2.

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

____________________________

MARK M. NAKASHIMA, Chair