STAND. COM. REP. NO. 216

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.B. No. 395

H.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 395 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE PATIENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to amend the Patients' Bill of Rights external review procedure under which patients may appeal a managed care plan's final, internal decision to deny coverage of a health intervention.

The Hawaii Disability Rights Center, HMSA, and Hawaii Association of Health Plans testified in support of this bill. Kaiser Permanente testified in support of the bill's intent. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs opposed this bill. The Office of Information Practices provided comments on this bill.

Your Committee finds that this bill will:

(1) Provide a relatively simple mechanism to adjudicate questions of healthcare plan coverage; and

(2) Prevent an individual from having to file a court action every time the individual's health coverage is denied.

Your Committee has amended this bill by changing the effective date to July 1, 2020, to encourage further discussion on the measure.

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. 395, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 395, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committees on Consumer Protection & Commerce and Judiciary.

 

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

 

____________________________

DENNIS A. ARAKAKI, Chair