STAND. COM. REP. NO. 933

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                

 

RE:    S.B. No. 404

       S.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 404, S.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HOSPITAL SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to expand and make permanent the Hospital Sustainability Program.

 

     Specifically, this measure:

 

(1)  Repeals the sunset date of the Hospital Sustainability Program;

 

(2)  Authorizes the Department of Human Services to modify, add, or remove the facilities that are subject to the assessment, under certain conditions;

 

(3)  Authorizes the Department of Human Services to determine the fee rate of the program;

 

(4)  Requires managed health care plans to expend all of their increased payments for the purposes of the program;

 

(5)  Requires that the hospital sustainability fee shall be discontinued if the Department of Human Services reduces certain reimbursement rates; and

 

(6)  Appropriates $200,000,000 to the hospital sustainability program special fund.

 

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Hawaii Primary Care Association, Kaiser Permanente, Hawaii Pacific Health, Queen's Health System, Hilo Medical Center, and Palolo Chinese Home.

 

     Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services and Healthcare Association of Hawaii.

 

     Your Committee finds that the Hospital Sustainability Program has helped to fund hospital services for Medicaid recipients by assessing fees on the hospitals, using the revenue from those fees to obtain matching federal funds, and returning more moneys to the hospitals than were assessed in fees, which are then used to supplement the cost of providing services for Medicaid recipients.  Your Committee further finds that making the program permanent will help to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of hospitals in Hawaii.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

(1)  Requiring the Department of Human Services to pay the hospital sustainability fee within sixty days after the end of the month that the Department imposes the fee;

 

(2)  Changing the appropriation to an unspecified amount; and

 

(3)  Making technical nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

 

     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. 404, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 404, S.D. 2.

 

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

 

 

 

________________________________

DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair