Bill Text: HI HB1724 | 2012 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Medicaid Presumptive Eligibility; Appropriation

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Enrolled - Dead) 2012-04-27 - (S) Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-27-12 4:00PM in conference room 229. [HB1724 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2012-HB1724-Amended.html

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STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3268

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 1724

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 1724, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to ensure that patients waitlisted for long-term care receive timely and appropriate medical care.

 

     Specifically, the measure:

 

(1)  Authorizes the Department of Human Services to apply medicaid presumptive eligibility for patients based upon income, assets, confirmation of waitlisted status, and care requirements;

 

(2)  Requires the Department of Human Services to submit a series of reports to the Legislature regarding costs and other issues related to medicaid presumptive eligibility;

 

(3)  Requires the Department of Human Services to conduct a study of a computerized medicaid applications system to resolve problems with processing medicaid applications, including current inefficiencies;

 

(4)  Requires the Department of Human Services to submit a report to the Legislature regarding the study of the computerized medicaid applications system; and

 

(5)  Appropriates funds to cover reimbursement costs for services provided.

 

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Healthcare Association of Hawaii and Kaiser Permanente.

 

     Your Committee received written comments in opposition to this measure from the Department of Human Services.

 

     Your Committee finds that in Hawaii hospitals, at any given time, there are an average of one hundred-fifty patients who are waitlisted for long-term care.  These patients place a drain on hospital resources.  Implementing medicaid presumptive eligibility will help reduce the delay in receiving long-term care services by shortening the lengthy medicaid eligibility process.

 

     Your Committee further finds that requiring the Department of Human Services to study a computerized medicaid applications system and submit a corresponding report along with reports regarding presumptive medicaid eligibility will help to provide medicaid eligible patients with timely and appropriate medical care while reducing unnecessary expenses for medical care providers.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

(1)  Clarifying that the Department of Human Services shall notify the patient's provider, instead of the facility, of the patient's presumptive eligibility upon receipt of the application; and

 

(2)  Making technical nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of style, clarity, and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1724, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1724, H.D. 1, S.D. 2.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

 

		____________________________ DAVID Y. IGE, Chair