STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1284

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 436

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committees on Human Services and Public Housing and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Affordable Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 436, H.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to require that Med‑QUEST and Medicaid coverage include chiropractic care.

 

     The Hawaii State Chiropractic Association and six individuals submitted testimony in support of this measure.  The Department of Human Services and the Hawaii Medical Service Association submitted testimony in support of the intent of this measure.  The Hawaii Medical Association submitted testimony in opposition of this measure.

 

     Your Committees find that Med‑QUEST and Medicaid recipients would benefit from chiropractic care to the same extent as others who have medical coverage for this service.  According to the testimony, chiropractic care can help improve physical health by increasing functional capacity and preventing disabling conditions.  Also, it was noted that more than twenty-five other states include chiropractic care in their Medicaid programs.

 

     Your Committees note that the Department of Human Services provided a statement that the projected cost for chiropractic services for both the QUEST and Medicaid fee‑for‑service programs is $4,230,995, which is based on twenty sessions per year, per person.  Depending on whether the Department of Human Services receives approval from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal share would be $2,369,357 and $1,861,638 in state general funds would be required.  These figures include the cost of a necessary x‑ray component, as well.

 

     It is your Committees' intent to reduce long-term health care costs by providing chiropractic coverage that will help improve overall health and prevent disabling conditions that would otherwise be far more costly to treat.  Your Committees have amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Requiring the Department of Human Services to pass funding on to Med‑QUEST plans to implement the services;

 

     (2)  Appropriating an unspecified sum for the provision of the chiropractic coverage;

 

     (3)  Changing the effective date from July 1, 2020, to January 1, 2008; provided that the appropriation section shall take effect on July 1, 2007; and

 

     (4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Public Housing and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Affordable Housing that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 436, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 436, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 


Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Human Services and Public Housing and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Affordable Housing,

 

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair

 

____________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair