Bill Text: HI HCR93 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Mandated Coverage; Cognitive Rehabilitation; Brain Injury; Auditor Study

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-03-11 - Referred to HLT, CPC, FIN, referral sheet 32 [HCR93 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2014-HCR93-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	93
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the auditor to assess the social and financial effects of requiring health insurers to provide coverage for brain injury.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of death and disability among children and young adults; and

 

     WHEREAS, every twenty-one seconds, one person in the United States sustains a brain injury; and

 

     WHEREAS, the risk of sustaining a brain jury is greater for a person who has previously sustained a brain injury; and

 

     WHEREAS, the outcome of a brain injury is unpredictable due to certain factors, such as the location, cause, and severity of the brain injury; and

 

     WHEREAS, the treatment for brain injury involves a multitude of rehabilitation therapies that may consist of cognitive therapy, psychiatric therapy, and speech pathology therapy; and

 

     WHEREAS, individuals living with brain injury can lead full and productive lives if given the appropriate lifesaving medical techniques; and

 

     WHEREAS, section 23‑51, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires that "[b]efore 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 23-51, Hawaii Revised Statutes, further provides that "[t]he concurrent resolutions shall designate a specific legislative bill that:

 

     (1)  Has been introduced in the legislature; and

 

     (2)  Includes, at a minimum, information identifying the:

 

(A)  Specific health service, disease, or provider that would be covered;

 

(B)  Extent of the coverage;

 

(C)  Target groups that would be covered;

 

(D)  Limits on utilization, if any; and

 

(E)  Standards of care.

 

For purposes of this part, mandated health insurance coverage shall not include mandated optionals"; and

 

     WHEREAS, section 23-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, further specifies the minimum information required for assessing the social and financial impact of the proposed health coverage mandate in the Auditor's report; and

 

     WHEREAS, H.B. No.     (2014) mandates coverage for the treatment of brain injuries for all insurance plans, policies, contracts, and agreements issued or renewed after December 31, 2014; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature believes that mandatory health insurance coverage for therapy and services relating to or as a result of an acquired brain injury, as provided in H.B. No.     (2014), will substantially assist survivors of brain injury in being able to lead a full life; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2014, 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 impacts of mandating coverage for rehabilitation therapy services following a brain injury for all insurance plans, policies, contracts, or agreements issued or renewed after December 31, 2014, as provided in H.B. No.     (2014); and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to submit findings and recommendations to the Legislature, including any necessary implementing legislation, twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2015; and

 

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

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Mandated Coverage; Cognitive Rehabilitation; Brain Injury; Auditor Study