HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	3
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE Reference BUREAU TO CONDUCT A STUDY OF THE RELEVANCY OF THE CERTIFICATE OF NEED PROCESS UNDER CHAPTER 323D, HAWAII REVISED STATUTES.

 

 

 

WHEREAS, Certificate of Need (CON) programs are state-level regulatory programs that require approval from a state health planning agency for construction, expansion, and major capital expenditures by health care facilities and services; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii's CON law, codified in part V of chapter 323D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, was established in 1975 in response to the National Health Planning and Resources Development Act of 1974 (NHPRDA), which conditioned the award of federal public health service grants upon a state's adoption of such regulatory measures; and

 

WHEREAS, in 1987, the federal mandate and funding provisions were repealed; and

 

     WHEREAS, since the repeal of NHPRDA, 14 states have dropped their CON programs while several other states have narrowed the application of their CON laws to only certain types of facilities; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii's law requires the State Health Planning and Development Agency to approve a certificate of need for the construction, expansion, alteration, conversion, development, initiation, or modification of all health care facilities or health care services in the State; and

 

WHEREAS, like many other states' CON laws, Hawaii's CON law is intended to provide a coordinated system that links statewide planning for health services with facilities development; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's CON program, like other programs nationwide, has been criticized on several bases, including:

 

(1)  It hampers the efficient performance of healthcare markets by creating barriers to entry and expansion, restricting free and open competition, and limiting consumer choice, resulting in higher prices;

 

(2)  It hampers innovation and improvements in the delivery of better healthcare by limiting competition;

 

(3)  It is not consistently administered; and

 

(4)  It does not achieve its objective of controlling healthcare costs; and

 

     WHEREAS, national health care reform and other changes taking place in the health care marketplace make it appropriate to examine the relevancy of Hawaii's CON program and its effects on health care access, quality, and costs; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2018, the Senate concurring, that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to conduct a study of the relevancy of the CON process under Chapter 323D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, with respect to:

 

(1)  The role of the CON Program;

 

     (2)  Whether certain facilities, types of facilities, or services should be exempt from the CON process; and

 

     (3)  Whether modifications made to the CON process in other states may be beneficial to implement in Hawaii; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to make appropriate recommendations to eliminate or modify the CON process; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations with regard to the CON process, including any necessary proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2019; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau, Director of Health, and Administrator of the State Health Planning and Development Agency.

Report Title: 

Healthcare; Certificate of Need Process