THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            105
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE GOVERNOR TO CONVENE A TASK FORCE ON ALTERNATIVE
    MEDICINE.
 


 1        WHEREAS, alternative medicine has made inroads in the way
 2   Americans perceive health care in the past decade; and
 3   
 4        WHEREAS, alternative medicine therapies include herbal
 5   medicine, diet regimen, homeopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture,
 6   naturopathy, massage, oriental medicine, and meditation; and
 7   
 8        WHEREAS, alternative medicine is gaining recognition in
 9   medical schools and is being resorted to for the treatment or
10   alleviation of HIV, arthritis, cancer, pain, hypertension,
11   headache, and other medical conditions; and
12   
13        WHEREAS, the Journal of the American Medical Association
14   recently reported that the number of individuals in the country
15   who have tried one or more alternative therapies in the
16   previous year increased from 33.8 per cent in 1990 to 42.1 per
17   cent in 1997; and
18   
19        WHEREAS, Americans make more visits to nontraditional
20   physicians, such as naturopaths and chiropractors, than their
21   family doctors, and spend almost as much on out-of-pocket
22   expenses that are not reimbursed by health insurance as paid in
23   premiums for health insurance; and
24   
25        WHEREAS, in Hawaii as on the mainland, alternative
26   medicine is fluid and its record is uneven, with some
27   therapies, such as acupuncture for the relief musculo-skeletal
28   pain and postoperative pain, becoming more accepted than
29   others; and
30   
31        WHEREAS, medical clinics are including chiropractors on
32   their staff and health insurance sometimes cover chiropractic
33   services; and
34   
35        WHEREAS, Hawaii is an ideal place to stimulate the growth

 
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 1   of alternative medicine in a credible and responsible way,
 2   given the plethora of medical providers in an array of
 3   alternative medicine specialties and the presence of a medical
 4   school at the University of Hawaii; and
 5   
 6        WHEREAS, a task force is needed in Hawaii to
 7   collaboratively examine and discuss alternative medicine,
 8   including the possibility of making alternative medicine into
 9   an economic growth instrument for Hawaii; now, therefore,
10   
11        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
12   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, the House of
13   Representatives concurring, that the Governor is requested to
14   create a temporary task force of a two-year duration to study
15   and report on alternative medicine in Hawaii; and
16   
17        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor is requested to
18   appoint members to the task force representing the Departments
19   of Health, Human Services, Commerce and Consumer Affairs, and
20   Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Healthcare
21   Association of Hawaii; Hawaii Chapter of the American Medical
22   Association; two health plans; chiropractors; nurses; and
23   practitioners of acupuncture, homeopathy, naturopathy, native
24   Hawaiian medicine, oriental medicine, herbalists, and other
25   forms of alternative medicine deemed appropriate by the
26   Governor; and
27   
28        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor is requested to
29   appoint the representative of the Department of Health as chair
30   of the task force; and
31   
32        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force examine the
33   various forms of alternative medicine, the ways to stimulate
34   the growth of alternative medicine, and the prospects of making
35   alternative medicine into a stimulus for economic growth in
36   Hawaii; and
37   
38        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force recommend those
39   forms of alternative medicine that should be given formal
40   recognition and proposed enabling and regulatory legislation;
41   and
42   

 
 
 
 
 
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 1        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force report on
 2   findings and recommendations to the Governor and the
 3   Legislature as an interim report not later than March 31, 2001,
 4   and as a final report not later than November 30, 2001; and
 5   
 6        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall dissolve
 7   upon submission of its final report; and
 8   
 9        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this
10   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor.
11 
12 
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14                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________