STAND. COM. REP. NO. 423

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 1294
                                        




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which
was referred S.B. No. 1294 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES HEALTH
     FUND,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to require eligible employee-
beneficiaries of the Public Employees' Health Fund and their
spouses to enroll in the Federal Medicare Part B insurance
program.

     The measure accomplishes this by mandating enrollment upon
penalty of an employee-beneficiary being excluded from receiving
contributions for a supplemental insurance plan and from
participating in Public Employees' Health Fund benefit plans.
The measure also enables the Public Employees' Health Fund to
grant exceptions on a case-by-case basis for those employee-
beneficiaries who are either ineligible or otherwise not able to
enroll in Medicare Part B coverage.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Public Employees' Health Fund.

     Your Committee finds that requiring eligible employee-
beneficiaries of the Public Employees' Health Fund and their
spouses to enroll in the Federal Medicare Part B insurance
program will result in reduced costs to the Health Fund as well
as to public employers.

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 423
                                   Page 2



     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 S.B. No. 1294 and recommends that it pass Second
Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

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



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN KANNO, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Co-Chair

 
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