CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 105

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: S.B. No. 1420

S.D. 2

H.D. 3

C.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 1420, S.D. 2, H.D. 3, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PSYCHOTROPIC MEDICATION,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

The purpose of this measure is to ensure that mental health patients receive appropriate medication by:

(1) Prohibiting the Department of Human Services (DHS) from restricting payment for access to psychotropic medication prescribed to the recipient by a licensed medical care provider;

(2) Providing that an individual determined by a licensed medical care provider to be in need of emergency psychiatric or psychological service is presumed eligible for psychotropic medication prescribed by a licensed medical care provider until an eligibility decision is made by DHS, and that DHS must reimburse any costs for the medication and related physician services incurred during the presumptive eligibility period;

(3) Removing the preauthorization restrictions for licensed medical care providers prescribing psychotropic medication to medicaid-eligible or presumed medicaid-eligible patients in need of emergency psychiatric or psychological service;

(4) Establishing a task force to examine issues relating to psychotropic medication restrictions, and appropriating an unspecified sum for the task force's expenses; and

(5) Appropriating unspecified sums for fiscal years 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 for DHS to provide unrestricted payment for and access to psychotropic medication.

Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

(1) Adding a findings and purpose section;

(2) Providing that DHS shall not restrict psychotropic medication if it is prescribed by a licensed psychiatrist or by a licensed physician in consultation with a psychiatrist duly licensed in the State;

(3) Requiring that the definition of psychotropic medication means only those agents approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration;

(4) Specifying that these provisions do not apply to QUEST medical plans;

(5) Deleting the section regarding presumptive eligibility for medical assistance for individuals in need of emergency psychiatric or psychological service;

(6) Making the program a pilot project to be repealed on June 30, 2007;

(7) Requiring DHS to submit a report to the Legislature including the number of prescriptions written pursuant to the measure, the cost and impact of psychiatrists or physicians prescribing medications that are not part of the existing formulary, and the overall utilization under chapter 356, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

(8) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2005.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1420, S.D. 2, H.D. 3, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1420, S.D. 2, H.D. 3, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

____________________________

Dennis A. Arakaki, Co-Chair

____________________________

Rosalyn H. Baker, Chair

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Alex M. Sonson, Co-Chair

____________________________

Suzanne Chun Oakland, Co-Chair

____________________________

Blake K. Oshiro, Co-Chair

____________________________

Shan S. Tsutsui, Co-Chair

____________________________

Dwight Takamine, Co-Chair