STAND. COM. REP. 2845

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: S.B. No. 2936

S.D. 2

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2936, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MEDICAL ASSISTANCE FOR PREGNANT LEGAL IMMIGRANTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to expand state-funded medical assistance to pregnant legal immigrants.

Specifically, this measure extends medical assistance to a pregnant woman:

(1) Who is age nineteen or older;

(2) Whose family income does not exceed one hundred eighty-five per cent of the federal poverty level for a family of applicable size;

(3) Who is a legal immigrant who entered the United States on or after August 22, 1996; and

(4) Who is otherwise eligible for benefits under Hawaii's medicaid program but is prohibited from receiving any medical assistance under Title XIX of the Social Security Act for a period of five years.

Your Committee finds that there is a gap in medical assistance coverage for pregnant women whose incomes make them eligible for medicaid or other state-funded medical assistance. Low income pregnant women who are United States citizens and low income noncitizens who are from the Compact of Free Association countries obtain medical assistance through these means. However, low income pregnant legal immigrants who have lived in the United States for less than five years are not eligible for any medical assistance.

This gap in medical assistance for pregnant women concerns your Committee because timely and regular prenatal care enhances the birth of a healthy baby, lessens the probability of a complicated delivery or a low weight baby with health problems, and prevents additional medically necessary services. Thus, medical assistance is warranted to close this gap. This will also help avoid additional costly services for the newborns of these low income immigrant women, while also providing medical care to their newborns who, as United States citizens, will be medicaid eligible.

Your Committee amended this measure by making technical nonsubstantive amendments.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2936, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2936, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair