Report Title:

Long-term Care Financing

 

Description:

Appropriates funds for a study on the feasibility and advisability of establishing a state program of long-term care that offers protective coverage to the largest number of people reasonably possible. Requires that DOH provide the 2003 legislature with findings and recommendations, and that DOH prepare legislation for introduction in the 2003 session.

 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

285

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO LONG-TERM CARE FINANCING.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Long-term care study. (a) The department of health shall contract for a three-part study to determine the best method of establishing a state program of long-term care that serves the largest number of people possible. Part I shall include models of at least three alternative approaches to providing long-term care for the people of Hawaii. At a minimum, models of the following approaches shall be included:

(1) A mandatory tax-based, comprehensive program providing universal coverage, including a model of the trust fund established under House Bill No. 31, H.D. 1 and H.D. 2, Regular Session of 1993;

(2) A voluntary, privately financed program similar to that offered to government employees; and

(3) A phased-in $3,000 tax credit program applicable to persons needing long-term care, and their caregivers.

(b) To the extent possible, the long-term care program models included in part I of the study shall be designed to achieve the following objectives:

(1) Be affordable;

(2) Provide for a fair distribution of costs by age and ability to pay;

(3) Provide sufficient flexibility to mitigate increased health care and other related costs;

(4) Include policy provisions or other mechanisms to guard against and allow mitigation of unbearable premium or cost increases; and

(5) Offer coverage to the largest number of people possible.

(c) Part II of the report shall be an actuarial analysis of the alternatives described, with parameters set to allow evaluation of the comparative costs and the relative feasibility of implementing each of the various models in Hawaii in the near future.

(d) Part III of the report shall include a department of health evaluation of parts I and II of this study. The evaluation shall consider the feasibility of the various approaches including the cost, actuarial soundness, and ease of administration of each approach or combination of approaches, as well as the comparative ability of each approach or combination of approaches, to provide appropriate long-term care to the largest number of people. Part three shall also include draft legislation to establish the preliminary outlines of a long-term care program, for introduction in the regular session of 2003. The draft legislation may mandate additional studies for the purpose of monitoring, evaluating, or extending the program established.

SECTION 2. Study contractors. For purposes of this study, the department of health may contract with one or more consultants and advisers, excluding legal consultants, who have demonstrated expertise in long-term care actuarial analysis at the national level. Contractors shall be selected through a competitive process under section 103D-302 or section 103D—303, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Selection criteria shall include the contractor's:

(1) Knowledge of past state efforts to establish a universal long-term care program;

(2) Knowledge of long-term care actuarial practice; and

(3) Experience in performing long-term care policy analysis.

State agencies shall cooperate with the department of health’s contractor for the purpose of providing facts, figures, data, projections, estimations, and other information needed for the study. The scope of consultant services under the contract shall include the provision of advice to the department of health for the purpose of drafting long-term care legislation under section 3 of this Act.

SECTION 3. Findings, recommendations, and draft legislation. The consultants contracted under this Act shall submit a report of findings and recommendations to the governor and the legislature no later than November 15, 2002. Based on that report, the department of health shall, with the advice of the consultants, draft legislation for introduction in the regular session of 2003.

SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $250,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2001—2002 to hire consultants for the purposes of this Act. The appropriation authorized in this section shall not lapse at the end of the fiscal year for which the appropriation is made; provided that any remaining balance of the appropriation that is not expended or encumbered as of June 30, 2003, shall lapse as of that date.

SECTION 5. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $10,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2002—2003 for the purpose of conducting one public briefing on each of the islands of Oahu, Kauai, and Maui, and two public briefings on the island of Hawaii, concerning the long-term care study findings and recommendations pursuant to section 1 of this Act.

SECTION 6. The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of health for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2001.

INTRODUCED BY:

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