HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

109

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO ASSESS THE SOCIAL AND FINANCIAL EFFECTS OF REQUIRING HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR COLONOSCOPY COLORECTAL CANCER SCREENING.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, colorectal cancer is a collective term that refers to both cancer of the colon and cancer of the rectum; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States after lung cancer; and

 

     WHEREAS, excluding skin cancers, the American Cancer Society counts colorectal cancer as the third most commonly occurring cancer in the country, affecting both men and women; and

 

     WHEREAS, the American Cancer Society estimates that there were approximately 108,070 new colorectal cancer diagnoses made in 2008, which the Society forecasts will result in almost fifty thousand deaths, or slightly less than one-half of those afflicted; and

 

     WHEREAS, in Hawaii, seven hundred residents will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer and over two hundred will die; and

 

     WHEREAS, colorectal cancer is one of the most treatable forms of cancer when diagnosed early through available screening techniques, including the following techniques listed in the American Cancer Society's 2008, revised colorectal guideline:  colonoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy, double contrast barium enema, CT colonoscopy (virtual colonoscopy), fecal occult blood test, fecal immunochemical test, and stool DNA test; and

 

     WHEREAS, recent studies by The Lewin Group and Milliman USA show that the cost of cancer prevention and detection is $.55 per person per month, which is very low compared to the cost of treatment; and

 

     WHEREAS, colonoscopy is considered a safe and highly effective diagnostic technique that studies have found to be more accurate and less invasive than other forms of screening and that was reported by Duke University Medical Center, in 2004, to be the "most reliable way to find colon cancer and the growths that could become colon cancer"; and

 

     WHEREAS, House Bill No. 823 has been introduced during the Regular Session of 2009 that proposes to mandate health insurance screening coverage for colorectal cancer utilizing colonoscopy, as well as screening tests and procedures recommended in the American Cancer Society's 2008, revised colorectal cancer guideline; and

 

WHEREAS, section 23-51, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires that:

 

"Before any legislative measure that mandates health insurance coverage for specific health services, specific diseases, or certain providers of health care services as part of individual or group health insurance policies, can be considered, there shall be concurrent resolutions passed requesting the auditor to prepare and submit to the legislature a report that assesses both the social and financial effects of the proposed mandated coverage…"; and

 

     WHEREAS, section 23-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, outlines the specific topics to be addressed in the Auditor's report required under section 23-51, Hawaii Revised Statutes; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the Senate concurring, that the Auditor is requested to conduct an impact assessment report pursuant to sections 23-51 and 23-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, of the social and financial effects of mandating coverage for colorectal cancer screening by colonoscopy and screening tests and procedures as further described by House Bill No. 823 (Regular Session of 2009); and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to submit a report on the Auditor's findings and recommendations to the Legislature at least twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2010; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor and the Insurance Commissioner who, in turn, is requested to transmit copies to each organization that issues health insurance policies in the State that may be affected by the Concurrent Resolution.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Colorectal Cancer; Mandatory Colonoscopy Coverage; Auditor Study