STAND. COM. REP. NO.  403

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2011

 

RE:   H.B. No. 615

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 615 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this bill is to improve mental health services in the State by, among other things:

 

     (1)  Requiring the Department of Health (DOH) to provide an unlimited number of adult mental health services to patients;

 

     (2)  Requiring DOH to assign case managers to adult mental health services patients based upon the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders, DSM-IV, of the American Psychiatric Association;

 

     (3)  Requiring DOH to employ trained and certified professionals, including licensed clinical social workers, to provide emergency crisis intervention services through its crisis hotline;

 

     (4)  Establishing an assertive community treatment program under DOH to provide counseling and treatment services;

 

    

 

     (5)  Changing the term "serious mental illness" to "severe mental illness" and adding major depressive order, anxiety disorder, and borderline personality disorder to the definition;

 

     (6)  Clarifying that crisis substance abuse and alcohol treatment is a covered health insurance benefit;

 

     (7)  Specifying that the Crisis Substance Abuse and Alcohol Treatment Program extends for a period of 30 to 60 days for patients that are known to abuse substances; and

 

     (8)  Appropriating funds for each year of the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium to establish a community care crisis center to assist with day programs for designated patients who are discharged from inpatient care.

 

     Mental Health America of Hawaii, The Queen's Medical Center, Safe Haven/Mental Health Kokua, Helping Hands Hawaii, Hawaii Disability Rights Center, and several concerned individuals testified in support of this bill. The Department of Health opposed this measure. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Hawaii Medical Service Association, Waianae Coast Community Mental Health Center, and several concerned individuals offered comments. 

 

     Your Committee finds that the number of hours of patient care provided for in the bill must be limited, and that not including licensed social workers and paraprofessionals as approved service providers unnecessarily restricts valuable community members from participating in the rehabilitative treatment of patients.

 

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

 

     (1)  Limiting the number of adult mental health service hours to 30 units per patient per month;

 

     (2)  Removing "clinical" from all references to "clinical social workers";

    

     (3)  Including paraprofessionals in the list of approved crisis intervention treatment service providers;

 

     (4)  Clarifying the insurance policy minimum coverage of two treatment episodes per lifetime by specifying that minimum coverage applies to "acute" treatment episodes;

 

     (5)  Clarifying that acute substance abuse and alcohol treatment episodes requiring hospitalization are a covered benefit;

 

     (6)  Clarifying that health insurance plans are not to impose increased rates on severe mental illness benefits; and

 

     (7)  Limiting the appropriation to establish a community crisis center to the 2011-2012 fiscal year.

 

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. 615, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 615, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

 

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

 

 

 

 

____________________________

RYAN I. YAMANE, Chair