STAND. COM. REP. NO. 47

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2001

RE: S.B. No. 1111

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 1111 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO REIMBURSEMENT FOR NONINSTITUTIONAL PROVIDERS OF MEDICAL CARE FOR SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to allow the Department of Human Services to change its current method of reimbursement to noninstitutional providers of medical care from the customary methodology based on the charges of providers in a specialty to rates established by a fee schedule.

Your Committee received testimony in favor of this measure from the Department of Human Services.

Your Committee finds that the current method of developing and maintaining reimbursement rates for noninstituitonal providers is cumbersome and difficult to manage. Rates are based on percentages of customary provider charges, according to the specialties of their practices. Provider reimbursement for services in this manner is not equitable. A conversion to a fee schedule method, as proposed by this measure, will maintain reimbursement according to services provided instead of provider charges by speciality, greatly simplify the processing of claims, and result in more timely and accurate payments to providers.

Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health and Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1111, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1111, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health and Human Services,

____________________________

DAVID MATSUURA, Chair