HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

48

THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

RECOGNIZING AND SUPPORTING ONGOING COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS TO IMPLEMENT A STATEWIDE STRATEGY TO ELIMINATE VIRAL HEPATITIS TYPES A, B, AND C IN HAWAII.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, viral hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver caused by a viral infection; and

 

     WHEREAS, the most common forms of viral hepatitis in the United States are hepatitis types A, B, and C; and

 

     WHEREAS, about sixty-three thousand people in Hawaii are living with viral hepatitis types B or C, and many persons may be unaware that they are infected; and

 

     WHEREAS, viral hepatitis types B and C have been linked to cirrhosis and liver cancer, diseases that affect the State's residents at disproportionately high rates; and

 

     WHEREAS, communities at higher risk for developing viral hepatitis include people who are indigenous, African American, incarcerated, veterans, experiencing homelessness, pregnant, or members of the LGBTQ+ community; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State is currently engaged in proactive measures to help eliminate viral hepatitis in underserved and at-risk communities by expanding Med-QUEST to cover hepatitis C medications; offering syringe service programs to reduce the spread of hepatitis C among people who use injectable drugs; identifying and supporting foreign-born women and families at high risk of contracting hepatitis B; and ensuring that homeless communities are immunized against hepatitis A; and

 

     WHEREAS, state agencies and private organizations are also helping to reduce and eliminate virial hepatitis types A, B, and C by offering vaccines, testing, education, training programs, and care services; and

     WHEREAS, on July 28, 2020, the United States Senators for Hawaii, Lieutenant Governor, and Harm Reduction Services Branch of the Department of Health issued "Hep Free 2030", a ten-year statewide strategy to help eliminate viral hepatitis types A, B, and C in Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, the "Hep Free 2030" strategy emphasized the need to integrate culturally appropriate services with a comprehensive system of care and promote the core values of harm reduction, social justice, intersectionality, and aloha; and

 

     WHEREAS, continued coordination and ongoing efforts are needed to further implement the statewide strategy to eliminate viral hepatitis types A, B, and C in Hawaii; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, that this body recognizes and supports ongoing collaborative efforts by state agencies and private organizations to implement the "Hep Free 2030" statewide strategy to eliminate viral hepatitis types A, B, and C in Hawaii; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the House Committee on Health, Human Services, and Homelessness and Senate Committee on Health are requested to convene two joint informational briefings after the completion of the Regular Session of 2021 and before the commencement of the Regular Session of 2022 for the following purposes:

 

     (1)  To assess the progress and status of the "Hep Free 2030" statewide strategy implementation; and

 

     (2)  To receive proposed legislation that the Executive Director of Hep Free Hawaii is urged to submit for the Regular Session of 2022; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the United States Senators for Hawaii; Governor; Lieutenant Governor; Chair of the House Committee on Health, Human Services, and Homelessness; Chair of the Senate Committee on Health; Director of Health; Branch Chief of the Harm Reduction Services Branch of the Department of Health; Executive Director of the Hawaii Health and Harm Reduction Center; and Executive Director of Hep Free Hawaii.

Report Title:

Department of Health; Viral Hepatitis; Statewide Strategy