HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.R. NO. |
60 |
TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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URGING MEDICAID TO DEVELOP MORE FEDERALLY QUALIFIED HEALTH CENTERS STATEWIDE.
WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that some 10 percent of the population of the State of Hawaii has no public or private health insurance; and
WHEREAS, the lack of adequate health care in our rural areas of Hawaii is exemplified by the shortage of primary care physicians especially in Oahu's neighbor islands; and
WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that it is the right of every resident of Hawaii to have access to healthcare wherever their home in these islands may be; and
WHEREAS, uninsured people are more likely than those with insurance to be hospitalized for conditions that could have been avoided had appropriate healthcare been available; and
WHEREAS, many uninsured people with various forms of cancer are more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage cancer resulting in higher rates of death and disability because healthcare services were not easily accessible; and
WHEREAS, nearly 40 percent of uninsured adults skipped a recommended medical test or treatment, and 20 percent say they needed but did not get care for a serious problem in the past year; and
WHEREAS, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) are a vital tool in keeping medically underserved communities and uninsured people healthy and disease-free; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, that this body urges Medicaid to develop more Federally Qualified Health Centers throughout the State of Hawaii for the benefit of those so desperately in need of healthcare in their communities; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to Hawaii's congressional delegation in Washington, D.C.
OFFERED BY: |
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Report Title:
URGES MEDICAID TO DEVELOP MORE FEDERALLY QUALIFIED HEALTH CENTERS STATEWIDE