STAND. COM. REP. NO. 9

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: S.B. No. 14

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 14 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to expand the coverage of QUEST-Net to include non-QUEST eligible persons who are employed but do not qualify for employer-based private health insurance.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Healthcare Association of Hawaii and the Hawaii Disability Rights Center. Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by the Department of Human Services.

Your Committee finds that a significant amount of the one hundred twenty thousand people in Hawaii who lack health insurance work part-time and do not qualify for the statutorily required employer-sponsored prepaid health insurance coverage. The expansion of the program would cover an eligible enrollee and his or her children.

Your Committee has amended this measure by adding an appropriation for the 2006-2007 fiscal year and making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 14, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 14, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

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

____________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair