Bill Text: HI SCR212 | 2021 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Requesting The Auditor To Assess The Social And Financial Effects Of Mandating Health Insurance Coverage For Annual Mental Health Screening.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-1)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2021-04-01 - Referred to HHH, CPC, referral sheet 32 [SCR212 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2021-SCR212-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.C.R. NO. |
212 |
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THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO ASSESS THE SOCIAL AND FINANCIAL EFFECTS OF MANDATING HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR ANNUAL MENTAL HEALTH SCREENING.
WHEREAS, according to the National Institute for Mental Health, in 2019, approximately 51,500,000, or eighteen percent, of adults in the United States experience a mental illness or disorder; and
WHEREAS, only forty-four percent of those individuals received mental health services for their mental illness; and
WHEREAS, mental health issues are closely tied to physical health issues, such as increased occurrences of chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, asthma, epilepsy, and cancer; and
WHEREAS, mental health issues cost the United States economy close to $200,000,000,000 in lost wages and $100,000,000,000 in healthcare costs; and
WHEREAS, suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, costing approximately $51,000,000,000 each year; and
WHEREAS, S.B. No. 728, Regular Session of 2021, would require health insurers and similar entities that provide coverage for health care to provide coverage for annual mental health screenings; 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, a concurrent resolution shall be passed that designates 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 under that legislative bill; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, 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 annual mental health screenings, as provided in S.B. No. 728, Regular Session of 2021; 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 2022; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor and Insurance Commissioner.
Auditor; Insurance; Mental Health Screening
