STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3467

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 1893

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committees on Health and Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 1893, H.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE OAHU REGIONAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

 

     (1)  Require the transfer of the Daniel K. Akaka state veterans Home to the Oahu Regional Health Care System and then to the Department of Health as part of the Oahu Regional Health Care System transfer pursuant to Act 212, Session Laws of Hawaii 2021; and

 

     (2)  Extend, by one year, the date by which the transfer of the Oahu Regional Health Care System to the Department of Health must be completed.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Defense, Department of Defense Office of Veterans' Services, Department of Accounting and General Services, Hawaii Health Systems Corporation Oahu Region, and one individual.  Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Health; Department of Budget and Finance; Hawaii Health Systems Corporation; and Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO.

 

     Your Committees find that the Daniel K. Akaka State Veterans Home, a facility that will provide long-term care for veterans, their spouses, and gold-star parents, is currently under construction by the Department of Accounting and General Services and Department of Defense with an expected completion date of spring of 2023.  The Daniel K. Akaka State Veterans Home is primarily funded through the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and Medicare or Medicaid.  Your Committees find that the Department of Accounting and General Services and Department of Defense do not have the expertise to manage a long-term care facility.  Your Committees further find that the Oahu Region of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation currently manages two of the State's nursing homes.  Transferring management responsibilities to the Oahu Region of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation would bring Oahu's three nursing homes under one administrative body and allow them to have the benefit of consolidated purchasing and efficiency.  This measure transfers the Daniel K. Akaka State Veterans Home to the Oahu Regional Health Care System and to the Department of Health thereafter.

 

     Your Committees note that part III of this measure extends, by one year, the date by which the transfer of the Oahu Regional Health Care System to the Department of Health must be completed; however, this extension of time is the subject of other measures being heard by the Legislature and therefore is unnecessary to include here.

 

     Therefore, your Committees have amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Removing part III of this measure, which extends, by one year, the date by which the transfer of the Oahu Regional Health Care System to the Department of Health must be completed; and

 

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1893, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1893, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs,

 

________________________________

CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair

 

________________________________

JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair