Bill Text: HI HR103 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Dartmouth Atlas of Healthcare; End-of-Life Care

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-03-27 - (H) The committee(s) on HLT/HUS recommend(s) that the measure be deferred. [HR103 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2012-HR103-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	103
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING the CENTERs FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, PRIVATE HEALTH INSURERS, AND PRIVATE HEALTH PROVIDERS TO ADOPT THE PRINCIPLES AND HEALTH CARE GUIDELINES regarding end-of-life care IN THE dartmouth atlas of health care.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, the Dartmouth Atlas Project examines patterns of health care delivery and practice across the United States and evaluates the quality of health care Americans receive; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, more than 90 million Americans live with at least one chronic illness and seven out of ten Americans die from chronic disease; and

 

     WHEREAS, among the Medicare population, the toll is even greater:  About nine out of ten deaths are associated with just one of the nine chronic illnesses that include congestive heart failure, chronic lung disease, cancer, coronary artery disease, renal failure, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes, chronic liver disease, and dementia; and

 

     WHEREAS, patients with chronic illness in their last two years of life account for about 32 percent of total Medicare spending, with much of it going toward physician and hospital fees associated with repeated hospitalization; and

 

     WHEREAS, research suggests that the care patients receive is not necessarily the care patients want; and

 

     WHEREAS, such evidence comes from a large-scale study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that found that most patients with serious illness said they would prefer to die at home, yet most patients died in hospitals, and care was

rarely aligned with patients' reported preferences, even though extensive efforts were made by trained nurses to align patients' care with patients' wishes; and

 

     WHEREAS, for example, among patients who indicated that they preferred to die at home, the majority (55 percent) actually died in a hospital; and

 

     WHEREAS, evidence suggests that patients often prefer a more conservative pattern of end-of-life care than they actually receive, and a patient's wishes can be less influential than the practice patterns of health care providers and hospitals where care is delivered; and

 

     WHEREAS, people with severe chronic illness who live in communities where they receive more intensive inpatient care do not have improved survival, better quality of life, or better access to care than patients who live in communities where they receive less care; and

 

     WHEREAS, patients who live in high capacity and high-income communities have experiences that differ dramatically, receive a much more aggressive brand of medicine, visit medical specialists more frequently, spend more days in the hospital, and die in an intensive-care unit more often than those in lower intensity regions; and

 

     WHEREAS, these findings underscore the importance of innovative approaches to care that help ensure patients and their families engage in discussions of their preferences before they become seriously ill, and providers respecting these preferences; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care indicates that more care does not necessarily deliver better outcomes or care than care that is geared more to a patient's wishes and a more comfortable end-of-life experience; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2012, that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, private health insurers, and private health providers are urged to adopt the principles and health care guidelines regarding end-of-life care in the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hawaii's Congressional Delegation, Governor of Hawaii, Director of Health, Director of Human Services, Board President of AlohaCare; President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hawaii Management Alliance Association; President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hawaii Medical Service Association; Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of Humana Insurance Company; President of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc.; President and Chief Executive Officer of Summerlin Life & Health Insurance Co.; President of United Health Alliance; President and Chief Executive Officer of United Healthcare Insurance Company; and Chief Executive Officer of Wellcare Health Insurance of Arizona Inc.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Dartmouth Atlas of Healthcare; End-of-Life Care