STAND. COM. REP. NO.  493-14

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2014

 

RE:   H.B. No. 2528

      H.D. 2

 

 

 

 

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 2528, H.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to require vendors, who have been awarded a contract through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to provide medical supplies to residents of the State, to have a physical location or administrative office in the State.

 

     The Hawaii State Center for Nursing and the Healthcare Association of Hawaii submitted testimony in support of the measure.  The Hawaii Association of Health Plans and the Hawaii Medical Service Association submitted testimony in opposition to the measure.

 

     Your Committee received testimony which stated that limiting the competitive bidding vendor pool for the provision of medical supplies to only companies with a local presence could cause healthcare costs to rise by limiting competition for these services.  However, your Committee finds that specialized medical equipment being delivered late or not at all can be a health care cost driver, eliminating any potential savings.  Further, your Committee notes that delivery issues with specialized medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies have delayed the release of patients from hospitals and other medical facilities thereby unnecessarily increasing health care costs.  Requiring medical suppliers to have a physical presence in the State will help reduce equipment delivery delays and ultimately provide a net benefit to medical patients.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 2112, to encourage further discussion on the measure.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2528, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2528, H.D. 2.

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

____________________________

ANGUS L.K. McKELVEY, Chair