Bill Text: HI SCR152 | 2022 | Regular Session | Amended


Bill Title: Requesting The Auditor To Assess The Social And Financial Effects Of Mandating Health Insurance Coverage For Oocyte Cryopreservation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-04-14 - The committee(s) on CPC recommend(s) that the measure be deferred. [SCR152 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2022-SCR152-Amended.html

THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

152

THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO ASSESS THE SOCIAL AND FINANCIAL EFFECTS OF MANDATING HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR OOCYTE CRYOPRESERVATION.

 

 


     WHEREAS, women who undergo certain procedures such as chemotherapy and surgery, or who are at risk of premature ovarian failure or ovarian disease, have a high risk of infertility; and

 

     WHEREAS, health insurers are currently not required to cover procedures for oocyte cryopreservation, or egg freezing; and

 

     WHEREAS, S.B. No. 2917, S.D. 2, introduced during the Regular Session of 2022, requires health insurers, mutual benefit societies, and health maintenance organizations that provide coverage for health care to provide coverage for oocyte cryopreservation procedures; and

 

     WHEREAS, pursuant to section 23-51, Hawaii Revised Statutes, before 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 that designate a specific legislative bill for the Auditor to review and on which to prepare a report for submission to the Legislature that assesses both the social and financial effects of the proposed mandated coverage, and S.B. No. 2917, S.D. 2, Regular Session of 2022, is such a measure; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Auditor is requested to conduct an assessment, pursuant to sections 23-51 and 23-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, of the social and financial effects of mandating health insurance coverage for oocyte cryopreservation procedures, as proposed in S.B. No. 2917, S.D. 2, which was introduced during the Regular Session of 2022; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to include in the impact assessment report a survey of other states in the United States that have implemented a mandate for oocyte cryopreservation benefits and to examine what the social and financial impact has been in these states; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to research what is being used as the standard medical definition of "reproductive age" that is best suited for oocyte cryopreservation procedures and to examine the success rates for the different age groups to determine coverage benefit limitations for this proposed covered benefit, including an examination of whether different standards of infertility treatments are applied to different age groups in need of infertility treatments; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to research whether any expansion of in vitro fertilization procedures coverage constitutes benefits that are in excess of the essential health benefits, thus requiring the State to defray such costs; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to examine current medically necessary standards of care used to determine what types of infertility treatment options are available, particularly ones that result in greater cost-effective savings than in vitro fertilization, which may be best suited for individuals in need of infertility procedures, and to examine the existing technology in infertility procedures and possible future technology; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to research the complex legal issues surrounding the rights and entitlements with respect to the frozen eggs, including contract remedies (for example, cryopreservation contracts) to address the storage and disposition of the cryopreserved material, and to consider the following:

 

     (1)  How long should the eggs be preserved;

 

     (2)  When and how should the eggs be destroyed;

 

     (3)  Whether the eggs may be used for providing instruction in assisted reproduction procedures or other research if the woman decides not to use them;

 

     (4)  What will happen to the eggs if the donor dies (for example, if she is married at the time, can her spouse use the eggs with a surrogate to have a baby after the biological mother’s death); and

 

     (5)  What will happen to the eggs if the donor and her spouse separate; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2023; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor and Insurance Commissioner.

Report Title: 

Insurance; Oocyte Cryopreservation; Auditor

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