Bill Text: HI SR67 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Hawaii Health Systems Corporation; Community Hospitals; Community Health Centers; Rural Hospitals; Federally Qualified Health Centers

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-03-16 - (S) Referred to HTH, WAM. [SR67 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2012-SR67-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	67
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the hawaii health systems corporation to Facilitate collaboration between Community hospitals and community health centers and to develop a plan to integrate certain rural hospitals with federally qualified health centers.

 

 

     WHEREAS, people and communities in rural areas of Hawaii are faced with many of the same health care issues and challenges confronting the rest of the nation, such as increasing health care costs, large numbers of uninsured and underinsured, and an overextended health care structure; and

 

     WHEREAS, many rural hospitals in Hawaii face financial margins too narrow or too low to support investments in critical plan and technological upgrades; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii's Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement rates remain below actual costs of services provided, thus stressing providers that depend on public program reimbursements; and

 

     WHEREAS, as stated in section V of the Policy Information Notice 2007-2009 for the Health Resources and Services Administration, "the goal of collaboration is to utilize the strengths of all involved organizations to best meet the overall needs of the area's underserved population"; and

 

     WHEREAS, section 323F-25, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires each regional system board and each hospital under the jurisdiction of the corporation to collaborate with community health centers within their respective geographic jurisdiction to maximize funding from the state and federal governments to maximize reimbursement for health care services provided; and

 

     WHEREAS, section 323F-25, Hawaii Revised Statutes, further requires each regional system board and each hospital to collaborate with community health centers to maximize funding acquired for capital investments; and

 

     WHEREAS, section 323F-25, Hawaii Revised Statutes, further requires each regional system board and each hospital to collaborate with community health centers to maximize funding for expanded hours of service; and

 

     WHEREAS, section 323F-25, Hawaii Revised Statutes, further requires each regional system board and each hospital to collaborate with community health centers to maximize funding to ensure the provision of the appropriate level of care to the community served by each community health center; and

 

     WHEREAS, collaboration of community hospitals with community health centers will help rural communities in Hawaii move toward the improvement and expansion of access to health care and will also encourage continuation of partnering with other organizations in order to expand and improve access to culturally competent, quality health care; and

 

     WHEREAS, collaboration will also ensure that services, including primary, preventative, and enabling services, are appropriately available to rural patients; and

 

     WHEREAS, there are twenty-seven hospitals in Hawaii, thirteen of which are located in rural areas; and

 

     WHEREAS, there are two rural health clinics and thirteen Federally Qualified Health Centers that provide services at sixty-nine sites in the State of Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii has a robust network of Federally Qualified Health Centers that provide quality health care to more than one hundred thousand uninsured persons; and

 

     WHEREAS, these health centers remove barriers to care and offer services that help their patients access health care, including transportation, case management, and health education; and

 

     WHEREAS, these health centers tailor their services to fit the special needs and priorities of their communities; and

 

     WHEREAS, integrating certain rural hospitals with Federally Qualified Health Centers would expand the focus on primary care and prevention and capture the cost-based reimbursement for all services provided to Medicaid patients; and

 

     WHEREAS, such integration will also provide free malpractice coverage under the Federal Tort Claims Act; and

 

     WHEREAS, a plan to integrate certain rural hospitals, including Kohala Hospital, Hale Hoola Hamakua, Kau Hospital, West Kauai Medical Center, Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital, Kula Hospital, and Lanai Community Hospital, into Federally Qualified Health Centers within their respective geographic jurisdictions needs to be developed in order to design a more cost effective, emergent care plan for all residents of Hawaii in rural settings; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2012, that the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation is requested to facilitate the collaboration between community hospitals and community health centers as set forth in section 323F-25, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation is requested to develop a plan for the integration of certain rural hospitals, including Kohala Hospital, Hale Hoola Hamakua, Kau Hospital, West Kauai Medical Center, Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital, Kula Hospital, and Lanai Community Hospital, with Federally Qualified Health Centers; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation is requested to report its progress on facilitating the collaboration of community hospitals and community health centers in accordance with section 323F-25, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and to submit a plan for the integration of certain rural hospitals and Federally Qualified Health Centers to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2013; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Board of Directors of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, and the Hawaii Health Authority.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Hawaii Health Systems Corporation; Community Hospitals; Community Health Centers; Rural Hospitals; Federally Qualified Health Centers