STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1015

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 1272

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committees on Human Services and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 1272, H.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO IMPROVING ACCESS TO PSYCHIATRIC CARE FOR MEDICAID PATIENTS,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to specify that coverage for telehealth under the State's Medicaid managed care and fee-for-service programs includes psychiatric services delivered via telehealth through a behavioral health care manager who is present in a primary health care provider's office.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, The Queen's Health Systems, Hawaii Medical Association, Hawaii Psychiatric Medical Association, and one individual.  Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii Association of Professional Nurses and one individual.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services and Hawaii Medical Service Association.

 

     Your Committees find that the psychiatric collaborative care model of integrated care is ideal for states like Hawaii with community populations that are remote from urban centers because the model does not require the physical presence of a psychiatrist when psychiatric services can be delivered remotely.  The psychiatric collaborative care model supports mental and behavioral health through a team-based, coordinated approach involving a psychiatric consultant, a behavioral health care manager, and the primary care clinician extending beyond the scope of an office visit.  Including coverage for psychiatric services provided through a collaborative care model that emulates the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services collaborative care program will ensure that more patients will receive the health care they need in a timely and efficient manner.

 

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Clarifying that a psychiatric consultant shall be a licensed psychiatrist in the State;

 

     (2)  Deleting the definition of "psychiatric consultation services"; and

 

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1272, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1272, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Human Services and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health,

 

________________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair

 

________________________________

JOSH GREEN, Chair