Bill Text: HI SCR146 | 2010 | Regular Session | Amended

Hawaii Senate Concurrent Resolution 146 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Joint Legislative Task Force; Health Care Reform

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2010-04-12 - (H) Referred to HLT, LMG, JUD, referral sheet 67 [SCR146 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2010-SCR146-Amended.html

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2877

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.C.R. No. 146

S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

Madam:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 146 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE CONVENING OF A HEALTH CARE REFORM TASK FORCE TO EVALUATE METHODS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY, SAFETY, EFFICIENCY, AND COST OF HAWAII'S HEALTH CARE SYSTEM, TO REDUCE MEDICAL ERRORS AND INCREASE PATIENT SAFETY, TO SEEK SOLUTIONS TO ELIMINATE DOCTOR SHORTAGES, AND TO ADDRESS THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF THE LEGAL SYSTEM IN COMPENSATING VICTIMS INJURED BECAUSE OF MEDICAL ERRORS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request the convening of a health care reform task force to evaluate methods to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and cost of Hawaii's health care system, to reduce medical errors and increase patient safety, to seek solutions to eliminate doctor shortages, and to address the role and impact of the legal system in compensating victims of medical error.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Kaiser Permanente, the Hawai�i Primary Care Association, the Hawaii Medical Association, the Hawaii Association for Justice, and the Health Policy Center at the William S. Richardson School of Law. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Health. Testimony in support of the intent of this measure with amendments was received from the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, the Hawaii Medical Service Association, and the Hawaii State Rural Health Association. Written testimony presented to the Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

Your Committee finds that Hawaii's healthcare system is consistently rated one of the best in the country but that to maintain that standard and to continue to reform and improve the system a collaborative effort from a variety of health care stakeholders is necessary. It is your Committee's hope that this task force will bring many of those stakeholders together and will present integrated and insightful recommendations to improve Hawaii's healthcare system.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Requesting the Healthcare Association of Hawaii to convene and provide administrative support for the task force;

(2) Including representatives from the Hawaii Association of Physicians for Indemnification, the Hawaii State Rural Health Association, two different Hawaii health insurance plans, and healthcare disciplines besides physicians on the task force; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive changes to ensure clarity and accuracy in the language of this measure.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 146, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 146, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair