CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 110-16

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2016

 

RE:    S.B. No. 2076

       S.D. 2

       H.D. 1

       C.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

 

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

 

Sirs:

 

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 2076, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH CARE,"

 

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:

 

     (1)  Establish a durable medical equipment supplier license program for suppliers of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and related supplies through the Office of Health Care Assurance;

 

     (2)  Allow license fees to be deposited into the office of health care assurance special fund;

 

     (3)  Amend the cap on amounts of the office of health care assurance special fund that may be used per fiscal year; and

 

     (4)  Amend the balance of the office of health care assurance special fund above which monies shall be deposited into the general fund.

 

     Your Committee on Conference finds that in 2013, the federal government established the durable medical equipment competitive bidding program in one hundred metropolitan areas across the nation.  The City and County of Honolulu was included as one of those areas and is the only Hawaii locality that was required to participate.  In the years since the competitive bidding program was established, the program has reduced reimbursements drastically for local providers, compromised the quality of care for residents, disrupted health status, and increased costs for seniors and their families.

 

     Your Committee on Conference further finds that the federal government plans to roll out a form of the competitive bidding program into the neighbor islands in 2016, which will create greater challenges for rural beneficiaries when trying to access needed services, resulting in reductions in their health and quality of life.  Establishing a licensing program will help to ensure that patients receive a minimum level of access to durable medical devices without increasing the costs or reducing availability of durable medical devices.

 

     Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Inserting $327,000 as the cap on the amount of the office of health care assurance special fund that may be used per fiscal year;

 

     (2)  Inserting $387,500 as the balance of the office of health care assurance special above which monies shall be deposited into the general fund; and

 

     (3)  Changing the effective date to January 1, 2017.

 

     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. 2076, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2076, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, C.D. 1.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

 

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

 

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

 

____________________________

DELLA AU BELATTI, Co-Chair

 

______________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair

____________________________

ANGUS L.K. MCKELVEY, Co-Chair

 

______________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Co-Chair

____________________________

SCOTT Y. NISHIMOTO, Co-Chair