Bill Text: HI HR165 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requesting The Department Of Health To Conduct A Study To Examine Whether Bed-hold Policies Place An Undue Financial Burden On Individuals In Assisted Living Facilities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-20 - The committee(s) on HLT recommend(s) that the measure be deferred. [HR165 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2024-HR165-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.R. NO. |
165 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE RESOLUTION
requesting the Department of Health to conduct a study to examine whether bed-hold policies place an undue financial burden on individuals in assisted living facilities.
WHEREAS, assisted living facilities provide a great value and service to the State as long-term care facilities for residents; and
WHEREAS, according to the December 2021 report The Elderly Population in Hawaii: Current Living Circumstances and Housing Options issued by the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, the State has a total of seventeen assisted living facilities with 2,367 assisted living units; and
WHEREAS, each assisted living unit typically has the capacity to accommodate up to two residents, with rent ranging from $3,800 to $8,800 per month; and
WHEREAS, residents of assisted living facilities are generally elderly residents who require intermittent or occasional help with activities of daily living; and
WHEREAS, however, there are times when residents of assisted living facilities require acute or extended levels of care outside of assisted living facilities; and
WHEREAS, according to one study, close to twenty-five percent of Medicare residents are re-hospitalized within the first thirty days of the resident being transferred to an assisted living facility from a hospital; and
WHEREAS, when residents of assisted living facilities require temporary hospitalization, they often must pay for the dual costs of reserving their bed at the assisted living facility and their hospital stay; and
WHEREAS, this practice of paying care facilities to reserve beds while the resident is temporarily absent is known as a bed-hold policy; and
WHEREAS, the establishment of bed-hold policies in assisted living facilities may disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, such as elderly individuals, low-income individuals, and individuals with chronic illnesses, which could exacerbate existing health inequalities; and
WHEREAS, in addition to imposing financial burdens on residents of assisted living facilities, especially those with limited financial resources, bed-hold policies may cause residents to delay or avoid medical care that could impact their health and well‑being and lead to increased health care costs in the long-term due to preventable complications and emergency room visits; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that the Department of Health is requested to conduct a study to examine whether bed-hold policies place an undue financial burden on individuals in assisted living facilities; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2025; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health.
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OFFERED BY: |
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DOH; Assisted Living Facilities; Bed-hold Policies; Study
