STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2234

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 2974
                                        




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was
referred S.B. No. 2974 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE INSURANCE
     BENEFITS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to require parity of mental
health insurance coverage for substance abuse services.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure
from the Department of Health, Affordable Housing and Homeless
Alliance, Advisory Commission on Drug Abuse and Controlled
Substances, Hawaii Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Counselors, Community Alliance on Prisons, Equal Insurance
Coalition, Hawaii Psychological Association, Hawaii Substance
Abuse Coalition, Mental Health Association in Hawaii, NAMI
Hawaii, Office of National Drug Control Policy, and a private
individual.  Testimony in opposition was received from Kaiser
Permanente and the Hawaii Medical Service Association.

     This measure is intended to separate parity for substance
abuse services from parity for serious mental illness benefits.
Substance abuse services include treatment for alcohol and drug
dependence.  Your Committee is aware of the difficulty of the
parity issue and wishes to simplify the matter by segregating
parity between mental illness and substance abuse.  The parity
requirements in this measure also will apply to QUEST medical

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2234
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plans since the exemption for QUEST until July 1, 2002, has been
removed.

     Your Committee finds that providing equal access to
substance abuse treatment is a cost-effective approach to
treating substance abuse.  Addiction should be treated like other
diseases.  Discriminatory caps, limited treatment stays, and
other coverage restrictions limit access to services and worsen
the problem for the individual and society.  Your Committee
further finds that addiction is a disease that requires treatment
like any other disease.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Health and Human Services that is attached to this
report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose
of S.B. No. 2974 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and
be referred to the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Health and Human
                                   Services,



                                   ______________________________
                                   SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair

 
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