STAND. COM. REP. NO. 362-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 1871

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 1871 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish and appropriate funds for a Maternal Health Monitoring Pilot Program within the Department of Health to provide eligible participants with improved maternal health care through remote patient monitoring for maternal hypertension and maternal diabetes.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women; Hawaiʻi Affiliate of the American College of Nurse-Midwives; AdvaMed; Philips; and March of Dimes. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Health.

Your Committee finds that hypertension and maternal diabetes are significant contributors to preventable maternal morbidity. Your Committee further finds that remote patient monitoring for maternal hypertension and diabetes has been recognized as an effective strategy to improve health outcomes by enabling earlier detection of complications, supporting timely interventions, and reducing barriers to accessing care. Your Committee believes that the Maternal Health Monitoring Pilot Program established by this measure will greatly improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes and generate important data that will help inform future policy decisions related to maternal health care delivery in the State.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that the dietitians who form part of a remote monitoring clinical care team must be licensed in Hawaii;

(2) Clarifying that the pilot program is to end either two years after the pilot program becomes operational or December 27, 2027, whichever occurs first;

(3) Changing the appropriation to an unspecified amount;

(4) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

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

Your Committee respectfully requests your Committee on Finance, should it deliberate on this measure, to consider an appropriation amount of $600,000.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1871, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1871, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

____________________________

GREGG TAKAYAMA, Chair