STAND. COM. REP. NO.  715

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

 

RE:   H.B. No. 1448

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 1448 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH CARE ZONES,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to establish a joint advisory working group to address physician shortage conditions in the State by offering recommendations to resolve the shortage.

 

     Specifically, the measure directs the working group to review physician densities in the State and designate three health care zones according to each zone's adequate, shortage, or critical physician shortage condition.  The working group is also directed to submit recommendations on alleviating the physician shortage conditions to the Legislature, the Governor, and the public.

 

     The Department of Health submitted comments on the bill.

 

     Your Committee finds that healthcare shortages exist in many areas of the State and notes that there are federally designated health care professional shortage areas in all counties of the State, as noted in the Department of Health's testimony.  After an area is designated as a health professional shortage area by the federal government, the area becomes eligible for various federal benefits intended to ease the health care professional shortage.  The federal designation is based in part upon provider to population ratios, unlike the determination of physician shortages by density, as mandated by the bill.  Your Committee believes this measure will enhance other existing initiatives that are focusing on increasing access to health care providers for the medically underserved in the State.

 

     Your Committee has amended the measure by:

 

     (1)  Adding the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Hawaii State Center for Nursing, University of Hawaii, as a member of the joint advisory working group; and

 

     (2)  Changing the effective date to January 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1448, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1448, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

 

 

 

 

____________________________

JOSHUA B. GREEN, M.D., Chair